The Thing I Fear the Most
by bibliophilia13
Summary: The guild is back together again and things seem to be going well…Except for the fact that Lucy seems to be avoiding Natsu, Gray still hasn't talked things out after he left Juvia, Levy feels lost in a world of possibilities, and Erza can't get a heavenly body mage out of her head. When they get caught in a spell, they are forced to deal with the very things they have been avoiding
1. Chapter 1

**This is a new story I have been working on for a while. Expect the first few chapters to set the scene for the rest of the story. This is rated M for language and possibly triggering content. Be sure to review to let me know what you think.**

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 _"_ _Dreams do come true, if only we wish hard enough. You can have anything in life if you will sacrifice everything else for it."_

 _―_ _J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan_

To anyone looking in on the guild Fairy Tail, it appeared to be a normal day. Well… normal for Fairy Tail. It started just like any other day with various guild members going about their business as usual. Then, just like any ordinary day, a brawl broke out and again just like any ordinary day it got a little out of hand.

"Why are we stuck here again?" The resident fire dragon slayer asked to anyone who was willing to listen.

"Because you almost destroyed the guild hall again, don't you remember this morning Natsu?" A blue flying feline replied as he flew in circles around his best buddy. "You called Gray a name and then Gray called you a name, then you punched Gray and he fell back into Gajeel, and then…" the exceed continued before being interrupted by the pink haired dragon slayer.

"That's not what I meant, Happy. I mean, why are we here, in the library of all places?"

"Not that I would ever agree with flame-brain, but he has a point. What does nearly destroying the guild hall have to do with the library?" The question came from a man with short and shaggy dark hair. He stood in the middle of the library, arms crossed over chest, which was bare except for a sword pendant attached to a silver chain around his neck. His dark eyes and stern expression added to his angst-filled demeanor.

"That is because Mira has entrusted your punishment to me," replied the scarlet haired warrior leaning up against the doorway to the library. Her arms were crossed in front of her armored chest piece. Her blue skirt shifted slightly as she lifted one leg to allow her foot to rest against the wall behind her. "…And Levy had mentioned she needed assistance in the library. I decided that helping Levy would be a good method of keeping you boys preoccupied."

Gray rolled his eyes and continued to put back the books Levy had finished with. The pile was shrinking slowly because Levy and Lucy had insisted that the books be returned to the shelf in the proper order. Lucy was sitting on one of the library tables, legs crossed and pointing Gray in the right direction to put the books back. She appeared to be thoroughly enjoying herself and occasionally played with her blonde hair.

"Not too much longer right, Levy-chan?" Lucy asked, but the bluenette didn't hear her. Levy's blue curls could be seen over a book much larger than her head and the only thing keeping her hair out of her eyes was an orange bandana that matched her bright orange dress. Her eyes were fixed on the text as she furiously wrote down her notes.

Behind the script mage stood a tall, dark, and brooding man. The man, dressed in all black, looked like he belonged at a sketchy dive bar in Bosco and not a mage in a guild like Fairy Tail. But Gajeel didn't look like he cared much about what anyone thought about his appearance as evident by his long mane of black hair and the piercings adorning his face and limbs. Although the iron dragon slayer looked like he wasn't paying attention to anything in the library, his concentration was solely on Levy. When she didn't respond to her friend, Gajeel poked her forehead lightly to get her attention. With a scrunched up brow, Levy gave the iron dragon slayer a questioning look. The large man just smirked and replied, "Blondie was talkin' to ya."

"Oh! I'm sorry Lu-chan." The girl squealed with embarrassment. "I was so focused, I didn't hear you…"

"No worries, I just want to make sure we still had time for our sleep over." Lucy replied with a smile. She was enjoying the sleep overs with her best friend at Fairy Hills. It gave her time to talk about the year away from each other while Fairy Tail had been disbanded.

"Wait you're gonna have a sleep over at Fairy Hills again?" Natsu asked with a pout on his face.

"Yeah, do you have a problem with that?!" Lucy questioned, almost daring for the pink haired man to say something. Everyone in the room turned to look at Natsu.

"…no?" Natsu muttered and scratched the back of his head. He wasn't about to admit that it bothered him. It wasn't that Lucy couldn't go and have a sleep over with Levy. In fact, Natsu was glad that Lucy had such a good friend in Levy. The problem was that Natsu couldn't go to Fairy Hills, well, not unless he wanted to incur the wrath of Erza. But, that meant that he couldn't hang out with Lucy when she was over there. Even more annoying for the dragon slayer was that these sleep overs were happening more and more often. In fact, it seemed that since the guild got back together that he never got to spend a lot of time with his best friend anymore. Any time he asked her to go on a mission with him, Lucy would invite Gray and Erza, and sometimes Wendy. She made a bunch of excuses to not go fishing with him and Happy. Whenever he would go to her house to try and sneak into her soft bed, she would be awake and would kick him out right away or she would let him sleep in her bed and she would go to her desk and start to write. It was enough to make Natsu think that maybe Lucy was avoiding him and Natsu really tried to not think, ever.

"Wait! A sleep over at Fairy Hills?" Happy shouted and flew straight to Natsu grabbing on to his face. "Oh no, I don't have a fish for Carla! I gotta go!" He cried and zoomed out of the library, leaving the door open as he went.

"Hehehe, I guess we should have mentioned it was just you and me, right Lu-chan?" Levy giggled and Lucy let out a chuckle.

"Everything alright in here?" A female voice came from the doorway of the library. The beautiful silver haired barmaid poked her head through checking on the group of mages.

"Hey Mira," Lucy greeted and waved at the sweet woman.

"Yes, everything is fine Mira." Erza replied. "Happy just had a sudden need for a fish."

"Oh," Mira giggled. "I see. Well I didn't know how much longer you would be. Erza, would you mind locking up when you are done?"

"Of course," Erza said and took a set of keys from the silver haired woman. "I will be sure to drop by your room when we return to Fairy Hills."

"Alrighty." Mira smiled. "Don't have too much fun guys!" The demon soul mage giggled and waved to the group before leaving the mages to their business.

Levy took the opportunity to stretch her arms and let out a yawn. "I'm sorry guys, I didn't know how late it was, why don't we stop for today and I can pick up on this tomorrow."

The three men in the room let out a sigh of relief. Sure this stuff may have been fun for the girls, but for them it was close to torture. Their instant relief made Lucy and Levy giggle.

"Finally, we can get out of here!" Gray huffed and swung his arms back and forth to stretch out his shoulders.

"Before you get too carried away, you should help Levy return the books she has finished with before leaving for the night." Erza ordered. It didn't sound like such a difficult task, until you saw the giant pile books the petite script mage had gone through during the day.

"What? How many books could you possibly go through in a day, Levy?" Natsu whined and shuffled his feet as he moved to put a book back on the shelf.

"If you boys hadn't been causing problems in the guild hall earlier, you could have been home by now." Erza chided the two as they moved sluggishly to put the books back. Gajeel grumbled something that was mostly inaudible as he grabbed a couple of books to move them to the library shelves.

"Don't tell me to shut-up metal head." Natsu responded to the iron dragon slayer. "It's not my fault that ice princess can't take a joke."

"I'd be able to take a joke, if you could tell a joke, hothead." Gray sneered back.

"Here we go again," Lucy mumbled and closed her eyes as she brought her fingers to massage her temples as if feeling the headache coming on from the inevitable fight. Levy had grabbed Gajeel by the ear, preventing him from going to engage in the developing tussle. Erza had moved from her spot on the wall and was walking towards the two bickering mages.

"Just 'cause you don't have a sense of humor, snow-man, doesn't mean that I can't tell a joke." Natsu said as he crossed the room to stand in Gray's space.

"I have a sense of humor, ash-tray. That's what makes your face so hilarious." Gray retorted, giving Natsu a slight shove as he walked past to retrieve more books from the table. Without hesitation, Natsu turned and shoved Gray who hit the table as he landed. Gray grunted and used the table to get enough leverage to lunge at Natsu. Just as Gray pulled back his fist to hit the fire dragon slayer, he felt a hand grasp his hair. The next thing he knew, there was a pain coming from his forehead. He opened his eyes to find himself sitting across from Natsu, who was also holding on to his forehead.

"I have had enough from you two today. Pick up these books and put them away so that we can go home." Erza commanded as she stood above the two males sitting in the middle of the library floor. She pointed to the table Gray had run into, which once had a neat pile of books on it. The pile of books had toppled and were now haphazardly scattered around the table. The two mages grumbled and got up to do as Erza asked without question.

Levy giggled at the sight and went to go stand next to Lucy. Lucy opened her eyes and gave Levy a sweet smile, when a book caught her eyes. Lucy jumped down off of the table and went to the pile of books on the ground. Levy followed her to see what had caught her friend's attention.

The book was slightly worn down and had a couple of spots where it looked like it may have caught on fire. _Knowing this guild, it probably has,_ Lucy thought to herself. The book appeared to have a partial map of Fiore on the cover. The title was written in plain block letters and read: "Location and Tracking Magic."

"I didn't know that we had a book of location spells." Lucy mumbled to the group.

"I haven't seen that book in a long time." Levy said with a smile. "I had bought the book back when we were kids. I thought that we could try some spells to help Natsu find Igneel. Of course we tried every spell in the book and nothing worked, so I figured that it would still be a good book to keep on hand if anyone wanted to use it."

"I wonder," Lucy said with a smile and ran her hands over the cover. Her mind instantly went to Aquarius. Maybe she would be able to find her key again using one of these spells. Her fingers went to the edge of the cover and she lifted it up to open the book to the first pages.

Before anyone could do or say anything, a blinding light came from the book forcing Lucy to shut her eyes. It was the last thing she saw before losing consciousness. Lucy, and everyone else in the library, hit the floor with a resounding _thud_.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Thanks to everyone that reviewed the last time. I know that some of you were concerned that the characters mentioned in the description hadn't shown up. Originally, I just put half of each pair, but I will likely change the characters there to reflect the new chapter. If I could, I would have just put all the pairs up, but I'm only allowed to indicate 4 characters. Lame-sauce.**

 **I will likely also post the next chapter today, it is really the one that sets the story into motion, so I want to get it out there for everyone. I had thought of combining the two chapters, but I felt like it really needed to be separated.**

 **As always, review to let me know what you think.**

 _Sometimes your memories can be your best dreams or your worst nightmares. -Unknown_

Erza's eyes fluttered open. Although she didn't remember making it back to Fairy Hills, she knew that she was dreaming. It was the only explanation for what she was seeing.

Erza had seen this scene often in her dreams. She was a child again, back in her cell in the Tower of Heaven. All the tell-tale signs were there: the cold stone floor that she had been laying on, her child like body, and, perhaps the most telling sign of all, Jellal still asleep in front of her. Despite the horrors of being a slave there and the scars that remained, she thought of her time there as memorable… almost pleasant. It was all due to the boy in front of her. Out of everyone that she had met there, Jellal was one of her best friends. He was a constant support for her. He anchored her to reality, he kept her sane. She smiled at her childhood friend and reached out a hand to touch his cheek as he slept. Erza could admit to how intimate the touch was, but it was also a comforting touch.

It was at that point that Erza realized that there was something… off about this dream. The first clue was with the hand she had just lifted to brush along Jellal's face. It was missing something. _The cuffs._ Erza could never forget those. It was a constant reminder of being a slave here. The thought that they were missing, even in a dream caused her to question if this really was a dream. She sat up and looked at herself. She wasn't in the rags that she wore as a slave at the Tower of Heaven. In fact, she wondered if perhaps someone had decided to play dress-up with her. She wore a long yellow tank top that went down to her hips and with it a blue skirt that stopped above her knees. Usually, Erza had some practical boots on her feet, but instead she found a pair of plain white walking shoes with white socks peeking out from the edges. She also noticed that her hair had been done in a braid, the end of which rested on her shoulder.

Her state of dress was not the most alarming thing that she saw as she looked at herself. The most alarming thing was the guild mark that remained on her left arm. Not only did she not have the Fairy Tail emblem while she was a slave, but this was also not the guild mark that she knew she had. This was just an outline of her real stamp. It was the same color blue and in the same spot on her arm, but it was just an outline. There was no color to it. She moved her arm over the ink on her skin and gave an involuntary shudder.

Erza returned her glance to the blue haired boy in front of her. Now that she looked at him, she knew that this wasn't a memory. He was dressed in simple clothes. He wore a simple white v-neck shirt and tan cargo pants. His feet were covered in black walking shoes, similar to the ones on Erza's feet. Also missing from his wrists were the cuffs from being a slave. Erza narrowed her eyes in curiosity. She gently pushed back his hair to look at his face. The tattoo that surrounded his right eye was still there, but like her guild mark, only an outline remained. She pulled her hand back and her face became pensive as she looked at his face.

Back when they were slaves together, his face always held such peace. This face, even asleep, showed concern and even hinted at distain. She hated that look on his face. It showed how much he still thought about all the pain he delivered to those around him. Erza wished above all else that he would forgive himself for all the things that happened when he was under Ultear's control. She wished that he would have that look of peace on his face again.

"Ugh…" The sound of someone else in the room startled her. When she realized that Jellal remained asleep in front of her, she turned around to look for the source. It was then that she also recognized that she was not in her cell at the Tower of Heaven. In fact, she wasn't sure where she was. She was in a room of some kind. It was stone on all sides. The floors were stone, the walls, the ceiling, everything. The ceiling was high enough that she had to tilt her head up to even see it and although she could tell it was made of stone, it was darkened as if the light in the room couldn't quite reach it. _Where is the light coming from?_ Erza wondered and looked around at the walls for the flickering of a torch or a light lacrima. The walls were rough in appearance and were of the same stone bricks of the floor. She couldn't see any light source. Beneath her, the floor was cold and smooth. However, adorned around the room were stone ruins, crumpled and cracked pieces of stone bricks in various sizes covered the room.

She heard another moan of discomfort coming from behind a larger portion of broken rock. Erza jumped to her feet with her guard up. She suddenly felt very vulnerable without her armor or a weapon to protect herself. Slowly she approached the side of the stone in an attempt to stay hidden. She slowly peeked to see around the edge and was shocked by what she saw.

Right in front of her was her friend Gray, but not the Gray that she had just seen in the library at the guild hall. This, just like Jellal, was the child Erza met when she first joined Fairy Tail. He was waking up, rubbing his head groggily. Erza had to smile, as she noticed that he had already stripped off a white button up shirt, which was on the ground next to him. But almost everything about him was like she remembered from his messy black hair and pale skin to the pendant that hung from a chain around his neck. Even his clothes were similar to what she remembered; black loose fitting jeans and black shoes.

"Gray?" Erza called. She quickly moved towards him as he lifted himself into a sitting position. He was still trying to become more aware of what was going on and failed to notice the oddity of Erza being a young girl again.

"What—"Gray paused. He recognized that his voice no longer had its deep tone to it. He set himself in a panic, jumping to his feet and walking backwards with a hand over his mouth in shock. He was so stuck in his panic that he didn't realize that he was about to trip over two of his comrades.

"AHH!" Gray yelled when he tripped over two little girls causing them to stir. Erza recognized the first girl to raise her head as Levy. The bluenette rubbed her eyes and looked at the boy that had just tripped over her. "Gray?" She asked with a confused look. She was dressed in an orange tank top and blue overall shorts. Although her hair was messy from having been asleep, Erza could still see the orange bandana in her blue locks which also matched her orange canvas shoes.

"Guys, what's going on?" A sweet voice came from the blonde next to Levy. Without opening her eyes, she rolled over to lie on her stomach and moved a hand to support head. She was dressed in a dark pink tank top with a large white heart on the front. The tank top was long and covered most of the jean shorts that she wore that barely reached the middle of her thigh. She wore a pair of rosey-pink canvas shoes. Gray's feet were still resting on Lucy's butt where he had fallen.

"Natsu, go back to sleep, it's too early for breakfast…" Lucy mumbled and allowed her head to drop back to rest on her arms. Gray took his hand off of his mouth and looked at the two girls.

"Levy?" Gray said coming out of his shock.

"Let's just take a deep breath everyone," Erza interjected as she came to sit next to Levy. "And Gray, get off of Lucy." She added shortly after. Gray nodded and moved his feet off of Lucy to sit next to Levy. Levy had nudged Lucy trying to gently wake her up.

"Erza, what's going on?" Gray asked.

"I don't really know, I just woke up like this." Erza said indicating to her clothes and her child-like appearance. Lucy by this point had opened her eyes and was sitting up. She was holding on to Levy's hand and was just trying to take in the scene around her. Erza continued to explain what she could. "At first I thought this was a memory, but things just weren't adding up."

"What things?" Levy asked. Lucy had quickly become more aware of what was going on. She noticed that her hair was down and saw a hair tie on her right hand. When she went to take the tie off to put up her hair, she noticed that her Fairy Tail mark was different. Her eyes widened when she saw that all that remained was the outline.

"Uhh… guys?" Lucy said with a panic as she held up her hand to show the others.

"Yes, mine is like that as well." Erza said and turned to show Gray, Levy, and Lucy her arm. Gray then looked down to his chest to see that the same had happened to his guild mark. At the same time Lucy helped Levy move her top to inspect her own guild mark on her shoulder.

"But it's not just us, either." Erza claimed.

"What do you mean?" Lucy asked after helping Levy re-adjust her clothes.

"Erza?" A raspy voice called, and Erza didn't hesitate to look back towards the corner of ruins she had come around. Jellal stood there, rubbing the back of his head

"Jellal?" Gray asked as he got up to approach the blue haired boy. Gray had become confused because Jellal's trademark tattoo around his eye was difficult to make out when it wasn't filled in.

"Erza, what am I doing here? What is going on?" Jellal asked with concern. Erza had walked towards him and reached out her hand without a second thought. Jellal took her hand without thinking as well, as if it were second nature.

"We were just trying to figure that out." Erza said as she led Jellal over to the others. Lucy and Levy shared knowing look before giggling while Gray just rolled his eyes. Erza noticed the looks from her friends and blushed before letting go of Jellal's hand.

"Let's try to remember what happened before we woke up here…" Erza mumbled. Jellal had also picked up on the situation and a slight blush started to creep onto his cheeks as he cracked a slight smile.

"Well, all I remember was getting into a fight with Natsu." Gray said deciding not to put any more effort into the whole ordeal.

"Which time?" Lucy asked with a chuckle before adding, "It's not too helpful when that happens every day."

"I remember being in the library." Levy said thoughtfully. "The boys had knocked over a bunch of books and were picking them up…"

"Wait!" Lucy almost screamed. "The boys! Where are Natsu and Gajeel?"

"Umm… Juvia has found them." A small girl came from behind another pile of rock. The child Juvia wore a sky blue sun dress with sleeves that covered her shoulders and a skirt that ended at her knees. Her blue hair was pinned back in a half pony tail with a white ribbon. A few strands had come loose and fell framing her face. She had a worried look on her face and appeared to feel very uncomfortable with the frills of her white socks that accompanied black penny loafers. After fiddling with her shoes, she stood up and crossed her arms. "Juvia would wake them up, but Juvia believes that Lucy and Levy would threaten harm to her if she did not let them see Natsu and Gajeel-kun first."

"What do you mean, Juvia?" Levy as she got up to walk over to the water mage. Lucy followed Levy to stand by their friend.

"Juvia does not know how to describe it," Juvia said and began to fiddle with her fingers. While the girls were talking, Gray had walked past them to go around the corner. He took one glance down before taking a gasp and covering his mouth with his hand.

"Gray, what is it?" Erza called, startled by her companion's reaction. She and Jellal ran around the corner to take a look themselves. They were followed by the three girls.

The two dragon slayers looked like kids, just like their comrades. Natsu looked just like he did when he had joined the guild. He was dressed in baggy brown shorts, a loose fitting white t-shirt and his scarf still hung from around his neck. Natsu wore a sandal on one foot; the other sandal was about a foot away seemingly kicked off while asleep. Gajeel as a child was quite different. His usual long mane of hair was much shorter; at the longest it appeared to barely reach his shoulders. In addition, the boy had far fewer metal studs protruding from his skin, particularly from his face. He was dressed in a black tank top and tan cargo pants, finished off with black boots. Gajeel also had fingerless black gloves dotted with metal studs covering his hands.

However, their child-like appearance was not what had drawn attention to the two dragon slayers.

Gray couldn't stand it anymore. He uncovered his mouth and bent over laughing… hysterically.

The two young dragon slayers were sleeping. Natsu had grabbed on to Gajeel's arm and was cuddling into his bicep. Gajeel was sleeping behind Natsu, the arm that wasn't being cuddled was holding Natsu around the waist. Gajeel had one leg between the fire dragon slayer's legs while the other leg was resting over Natsu's legs. The two boys looked perfectly content.

Not only were the two dragon slayers cuddling, they were spooning.

Erza covered her mouth to stifle a chuckle, while Jellal brought his hand to his forehead with an audible _smack_. Gray had now fallen to the floor in his laughter. Juvia had a smile on her face, while Lucy and Levy had also started laughing.

"You're right Juvia, I might have done something if I found out I missed this." Lucy said as she laughed freely. Juvia only nodded in response.

"I wish Reedus was here," Levy said desperately wishing that she had a picture of the two like this. She could only imagine what Pantherlily would say to see his partner cuddling with the fire dragon slayer.

"Yes, well as much as I enjoy the view, I think we should wake them up so we can get to the bottom of this situation." Erza said with a smile on her face. Gray had run out of breath and stopped laughing. He stayed on the floor on his back to catch his breath again.

"Gajeel," Levy cooed as she sat down next to the iron dragon slayer's head. Lucy walked over and sat down right in front of Natsu.

"Go back to sleep, Shrimp." Gajeel mumbled and squeezed Natsu closer to him to snuggle into his hair. This only caused Gray to burst into another fit of laughter and Levy to blush slightly as she stifled a giggle. She sat down just above Gajeel's head and tried to stir him again. "Gajeel, I have a question for you."

"Sleep…" Gajeel replied. He was not really awake yet and was just acknowledging Levy's voice at this point.

"Don't worry Levy, I got this." Lucy said calmly.

"Hey, Natsu." At the sound of Lucy calling for him, Natsu's eyebrows lifted as he tried to mutter something.

"I just heard that Gray's gonna make S class before you." Lucy said in a sing song voice.

"No way is snowflake gonna be S class before me!" Natsu yelled as his eyes flew open. He tried to jump up to his feet and became very confused when he felt stuck. His eyes found Lucy and his brow furrowed in confusion. "Hey Lucy… How'd you get so small?"

"That's a good question, Natsu. I have a better question though," Lucy said with a deceivingly sweet smile. "How does it feel being cuddled like a teddy bear by Gajeel?"

"Wha—" Natsu said while taking a look behind him. At the same time, Gajeel had opened his eyes in a slight panic only to look directly into Natsu's eyes. Both boys released their holds and jumped away from each other which only caused Gray to laugh harder. Erza spoke up to get Natsu and Gajeel's attention before they had a chance to turn on each other or on Gray.

"Now that you are awake, we have more important things to discuss." Erza said as she approached the two dragon slayers. "Let me see your guild marks. Juvia, you should check yours as well." She ordered.

Natsu and Gajeel both turned to show their guild marks to find that just the outline remained. Juvia lifted part of the skirt to get dress to look at hers to find the same result.

"Erza, what the hell is going on?" Natsu asked with concern.

"I have no idea…"


	3. Chapter 3

_"_ _It's hard to say I'd rather stay awake when I'm asleep_

 _Because my dreams are bursting at the seams"_

 _-Owl City, Fireflies_

 _"_ _I have no idea…"_

Erza's words felt like they should have echoed off the stone walls, so it was unsettling when they didn't. Instead it felt like the words reverberated through their minds. It sent tingles down their spines but the shivers were remarkably absent. It was an unsettling feeling.

"Well, what do we know?" Levy was the first to break the pause. As usual, there was a puzzle to solve, and she was going to get to the bottom of it systematically.

"Well this isn't a memory…" Erza stated, though even the mighty Titania appeared unsure of herself.

"We all look like we did when we were kids?" Gray said hoping that stating the obvious was somehow helpful. "Maybe like the Art of Regression magic?"

"Our guild marks, they've changed." Lucy said looking at the back of her hand.

"And not just our guild marks…" Erza said looking at Jellal. The blue haired boy blushed slightly before Natsu made his way in front of him, inspecting his face.

"Woah!" Natsu exclaimed reaching out a hand to touch Jellal's face. Jellal started to lean away from Natsu's hand and before Natsu could get much further Erza smacked the pinkette's hand.

"But what does that mean? What would cause our guild marks and Jellal's tattoo to change like that?" Lucy questioned.

"I don't know, but clearly it means something." Levy said as she began to pace.

"Does anyone recognize where we are?" Jellal spoke up. "That may help us get out of here and back to Fairy Tail."

The group looked around the room. There was nothing remarkable about it. Just stone floor, stone walls…

"Wait…" Erza commented and started walking towards the far wall. She started walking towards what could only be described as a shadow. As she got closer, details on the wall became clearer. There was a hallway. A hallway Erza didn't see when she was looking around the room before. "This is new."

Natsu quickly made his way over to investigate. The other shifted closer with much less enthusiasm. Natsu began sniffing towards the dark corridor.

"That's weird." Natsu said and scratched the back of his head.

"What is it Natsu?" Levy asked.

"It doesn't smell like anything…" Natsu mumbled. Gajeel raised an eyebrow before making his way towards the hallway. Once there, he also took a few good sniffs.

"Match-stick is right; it doesn't smell like anything…" The young iron dragon slayer commented.

"Wait, is that because you guys can't smell anything or because it doesn't smell like anything?" Lucy asked worried.

The two boys looked at each other and shrugged. Natsu and Gajeel leaned in closer to each other and took a good couple of sniffs. Lucy was reminded of how dogs walk in circles trying to sniff each other's butts. She stifled a small giggle in her hands. That was before the slight look of panic that appeared on their faces.

"Nothing?" Lucy asked. Gajeel shook his head while Natsu let out a growl. "What the hell man?"

Levy then stopped as if she had realized something and ran towards her best friend. "Lu-chan, do you have your keys?"

Lucy instinctively touched the spot on her hips where the pouch that held her keys usually rested. When there was nothing there, she looked down and around her to see if the keys were somewhere nearby. "Oh no…" She mumbled. "I can't find them anywhere..."

While Lucy began to have a mini-panic attack, Levy turned to Gray. "Gray can you use your magic?"

Gray shrugged before bringing both hands together in an attempt to access his magic. After a few seconds, Gray brought his hands in front of him and rubbed his fingers together.

"That's weird…" Gray mumbled.

"What is it?" Levy asked. She had a theory, but needed to confirm things first.

"My hands, they can feel the magic. I can feel the magic working and my hands even feel cold, but nothing is happening." Gray mumbled and looked up at Levy, who seemed excited at the news. Levy then skipped her way over to Juvia.

"Juvia, you try your magic." The water mage nodded and held out a hand to form a ball of water, but nothing happened. Levy smiled and turned to look at the group.

"I think I know where we are," Levy squealed. "I thought it was odd that Natsu and Gajeel couldn't smell each other when they were asleep, but when they couldn't smell anything down the hallway I came up with a theory." Levy was interrupted by to hands on her shoulder.

"Levy, skip to the point." Erza said. Levy nodded and Erza released her shoulders.

"We are sharing a collective consciousness." Levy said with a gleam in her eyes.

"Oh, you're right Levy that makes so much sense." Lucy said and took a deep breath forgetting her panic over her keys. Jellal nodded in response to Levy's statement, but kept quiet to himself.

"A collective consciousness," Erza mumbled thoughtfully. "For what purpose?"

"Uhm… Shrimp, can we get a translation?" Gajeel nodded towards himself, Natsu, Gray, and Juvia. Gajeel and Juvia shared a confused look while waiting patiently for an explanation. Natsu and Gray on the other hand had gone to quietly arguing over what the others were talking about. Levy giggled.

"A collective consciousness is kinda hard to explain. So normally when everyone is together in the guild hall, everyone experiences things a little differently because we see things differently. We don't know what anyone else is thinking or feeling because we aren't in their head. But a collective consciousness is like if everyone had the same experience like if we were all in the same head." Levy tried explaining in the best way she knew to the other members of the group.

"You lost me." Natsu said looking at Levy with a blank stare. Lucy let her palm hit her forehead and slowly slide down her face while releasing an audible sigh. Gajeel still shared a look of confusion with Juvia. But Gray's face lit up as if he had an epiphany.

"So like when Warren uses his telepathy magic and we can all communicate with each other without being near each other." Gray said trying to clarify.

"Not quite," Levy said trying to think of another way to explain. "It's like if all of us were in the same dream. Well, if we were all dreaming the same dream."

"Oh Gray-sama, you are dreaming of Juvia?" Juvia swooned and blushed before she looked around the room at the others and thought _love-rivals!_

"Woah, I don't want to be in frostbite's dream world! How do I get out of here?" Natsu yelled. Gajeel lowered his head and pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers and mumbled something that sounded like "idiot".

"Guys, we aren't in Gray's dream." Lucy yelled trying to get the group's attention. "We aren't in anyone's dream. We just aren't in our bodies anymore."

"Exactly!" Levy smiled continuing her explanation. "That means that these aren't our physical bodies. We aren't really kids again. But wherever 'here' is, it needs some representation for our bodies so it just makes us look like kids."

"Our inner child," Jellal said with a chuckle.

"Well I hadn't thought of it that way, but sure you can go with that." Levy mused. "Anyway, that's why Gajeel and Natsu can't smell anything. Their heightened senses use their bodies, and we aren't actually in our bodies."

"But I could feel the magic in my fingers," Gray said.

"Yes, because we are still connected to our bodies, our consciousness is just somewhere else. So wherever our bodies are, your hands are probably icy, just not here." Levy reasoned.

"So we don't have our magic here…" Natsu grumbled.

"Well that's good news for you flame-brain," Gray smirked. "Means you and metal face didn't actually end up spooning." Gajeel let out a growl towards Gray at the reminder of the embarrassing situation he woke up to.

"What was that snow-cone?" Natsu growled and was in Gray's face in less than two steps.

"You heard me." Gray retorted while imitating Natsu's aggressive posture. "Did waking up with iron-freak get you 'all fired up'?" Various members of the group had already moved to try to break up the fight before it came to blows. Levy already had taken Gajeel's hand, something that had increasingly prevented him from getting involved in fights. At the same time Erza was making her way to put Natsu and Gray in their place.

"Well at least I can get someone to sleep next to me," Natsu started his response. "You can't even get the girl that likes you in your bed."

"Natsu!" Lucy yelled to try to get Natsu's attention, but Natsu's focus remained on the dark haired boy.

"I mean hell snowflake, you can't get a girl to stay in your life, forget about getting in your bed." Natsu yelled. The punch that Gray delivered was so fast that Natsu never saw it coming. It knocked Natsu to the ground. Before he could get up to return the punch, Gray had started running. There was no real place to go except down the dark hallway. He didn't care; he just needed to be alone.

"Natsu!" Lucy yelled at the pink haired boy. Erza grabbed Natsu by the shoulders and pushed him back to prevent him from going after Gray.

"That was uncalled for, Natsu." Erza scolded.

"He started it!" Natsu complained and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"Seriously, Natsu!" Lucy said and gave the fire dragon slayer a smack to the back of the head. "Now is really not the time to be fighting, can't you just chill out until we figure out what's going on?"

Natsu was about to say something back, but the look of disappointment on Lucy's face was enough to shut him up. He couldn't stand that look and instead looked away from the blonde.

"Should someone go after him?" Jellal asked. Erza shook her head in response.

"Gray knows where we are, he just needs some time alone."

* * *

"Stupid Flame-brain, no way am I staying in the same place with him until we get rescued," Gray huffed as he trudged down the hallway. His long steps echoed and the voices from the previous room started to fade. "Fucking… flaming… hothead… DUMBASS," Gray shouted clenching his fists. As his anger flared, he could feel the cold of his magic come to his fingers and a difference in temperature could be felt in the air.

Gray stopped and scrunched his eyes closed. He took a deep breath, dragging his hands through his hair. The chill from his hands was mildly comforting. He let his hands rest on the back of his neck and he leaned up against the wall, trying to gain some kind of comfort. He wanted something that would ground him, to help him forget that he was stuck in this child-like body. Anything to distract him…

"That really is what you want…" a girl's voice echoed off the walls.

"Who's there?" Gray turned around, startled and looking for the owner of the voice. The voice was vaguely familiar, but he couldn't place it.

"Forgotten about me already?"

Gray turned around just as a swirling mist floated down in front of him. The mist slowed down and took the form a young girl, close to Gray's height dressed in only plain nightdress with thin shoulder straps. Her pale skin almost glowed in the darkness of the hallway. Her brown orbs showed just a hint of mischief and her dark purple hair was cut short and hung close to her head. Gray shook his head in confusion. "Who are you?"

"I'm sorry," the girl said in a sing-song voice. Despite the sweetness of her voice there was a hint of spite behind her words. "Perhaps I shall jog your memory, show you how you remember me?" As she spoke, her body began to change as if she was aging years in a matter of moments. Her legs grew long, her hips and chest becoming more voluptuous. Her dress became skin-tight, a cloak formed from the darkness of the hall and fell lightly on her shoulders. Her dark purple hair grew long and fell past her waist. Gray's eyes grew wide with recognition.

"Ultear?" Gray spoke in barely a whisper.

"Yes Gray," the woman replied. "I'm glad that you could remember me after the sacrifice I made for your sake." As she spoke, her eyes lost their mischievous light and narrowed in disdain.

"I… I'm sorry," Gray mumbled as he remembered the return from the Grand Magic Games.

"You're sorry!" Ultear laughed bitterly. "I sacrificed my life force to keep you and your friends from death and all you have to say is you're sorry?"

"N-n-no, that's not what I meant…" Gray stumbled and took a step back from the image of the woman he once knew.

"Are you really that surprised, Ultear?" Another voice called out from the darkness. From next to Ultear, another swirling mist formed a second woman. She was dressed in a simple top, covered with a tan jacket, and her legs were mostly covered with black pants. One pant leg was torn to reveal an ice prosthetic. Her dark chin length hair framed her face. The right side of her face was cracked, as if made of ice. Gray instantly recognized his long dead teacher. However, instead of the warm smile that he remembered from his childhood, her face held a scowl in his direction. "After all, he didn't change much since I gave my life to save his."

"Ur…" Gray whispered, a look of shock on his face. He took another step away from the duo and his face paled. "How is that even possible? Both of you are…"  
"Dead?" Ultear said, completing his sentence. "Regretfully so, and all thanks to you, Gray."

"What do you mean?" The child Gray asked.

"Well, you see Gray" Ur started as she took a step towards her young pupil. "Both of us gave our lives for you, and what have you done with our gifts, hmm?"

"You certainly haven't done anything worth notice," Ultear continued where her mother left off. "Deep inside, you know that it's true. You put our lives, our sacrifices to shame."

"No," Gray's eyes darted back and forth between the women. Shock was slowly overcoming him. He was trying to push it back, push back the fear that this was his reality.

"You can try to deny it all you want Gray, but there's no need. There are no secrets here. We both know the truth," Ultear sneered.

"Stop! You don't mean that. You're not here. You aren't real, this isn't real!" The young Gray shouted, trying to cover his ears from the harmful words from the two women. Ur laughed bitterly, and continued to walk towards the young Gray.

"Of course this is real, Gray." Ur approached him and crouched down to be face to face with him. With a smirk on her face, she raised a hand and slapped Gray across the face hard enough to send the boy to the ground. "You just can't handle the fact that you are a complete and total disappointment."

"No…" Gray said bringing a hand to his stinging cheek. "No… This isn't real." As tears came to his eyes, he stood up and ran back down the hallway towards the others.

"You can't deny it Gray," echoed Ultear's voice down the hall.

"You can't run from the truth that's inside you, Gray" Ur's voice followed. The echoing of laughter from the two women followed him down the hall. Gray tried to wipe the tears from his eyes, while running as fast as his short legs could take him.

 _It's not true. It can't be true. This isn't real._ Gray repeated the mantra inside his head, trying to combat the statements made by Ultear and Ur. Gray clutched his eyes closed tight and didn't notice the dark blue ring light up around the walls and floor, marking the threshold of the haunted hall. He kept running until he could hear the voices of his comrades up ahead.

"Gray?" He heard someone shout. He opened his eyes, but the haunting images of the two women stayed at the forefront of his mind, distracting him from his surroundings. Right at the opening to room, he tripped on his own feet and fell, but that didn't stop him from stumbling upright and trying to run again.

"Gray!" Someone called his name, but he shook his head and tried to keep moving. He only stopped when a pair of hands grabbed him by the shoulders. Gray opened his eyes to find himself looking at the face of a young Jellal.

"Gray-sama…" He heard Juvia's trembling voice coming from his right. "Gray-sama, what happened? Gray-sama looks like he has seen a ghost."

Gray finally took in his own appearance; his rapid breathing, the sweat on his body and the tremors that began to shake him to his core.

"I th-think I-I did," Gray replied with a shaking voice and looked at his comrades with wide eyes.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi everyone. Thanks for everyone who left a review. I am glad that you guys are intrigued and/or like the story.**

 **I feel like this chapter doesn't feel very satisfying on its own, but I also didn't feel like it should be combined with the next chapter either (I'm picky about these things). So I'll put this chapter up tonight and I'll give you the next chapter sometime tomorrow.**

 **Review to let me know what you think, otherwise I just sit here thinking about how I am a terrible story teller.**

 **Oh, and in case there was any confusion, I don't own Fairy Tail. :p**

* * *

 _"_ _Even if you know you're sleeping, you're still at the mercy of your dreams. People who are asleep can't simply decide to wake up. Nightmares don't let you off that easily. They hold you in their clutches until they decided, in their own good time, to let you go."_

 _―_ _Steven James, Blur_

Jellal only released Gray when Erza approached.

"Gray, come here and sit down. Tell us what happened." Erza guided Gray to a spot on the ground in the center of the room and then took a seat beside him. The others, who had previously split up into smaller groups, gathered around forming a small circle as if they were children about to play "Duck, Duck, Goose". All of their eyes fixed on Gray with anticipation and anxiety of what Gray had to say.

"I don't even know where to start," Gray mumbled, looking down at his hands which were still slightly trembling.

"You said that you thought you saw a ghost?" Levy prompted. She was sitting between Lucy and Gajeel and her arms hugging her knees to her chest. "Who or what did you see?"

"I saw Ur… and Ultear…" Gray said. At the mention of his old friend, Jellal's eyes perked up and gave a quick glance to Erza. Lucy spoke up hesitantly and in a quiet voice, "But, Gray… how is that even possible? They are both…"

"Dead, I know!" Gray raised his voice, causing Lucy to shift back and closer to Levy. Natsu shifted closer to Lucy in a defensive manner and opened his mouth to snap at Gray when a voice sounded around the room causing everyone to jump.

"Gray! Gray can you hear me? Is everything alright?" The voice called from overhead drawing everyone's attention up.

"That sounds like Warren," claimed Natsu.

"Warren? Is that you?" Gray yelled back.

"Woah, no need to scream in my ear and what is up with your voice?" Warren replied.

"Oh, sorry." Gray replied. "Can you tell us what's going on? Where are you?"

"We were hoping you could tell us that," a second voice replied. This voice was unmistakably the youngest of the guild's dragon slayers, Wendy.

A third voice rang out through the room belonging to the one and only Mirajane, "When I came to the guild this morning, I noticed that the guild hadn't been locked up from last night. I was worried and went to check the library. That's where we found you, Gray. You looked like you, and everyone else, had fallen asleep. But when I tried to wake you, nothing worked."

"When I came to the guild in the morning, Mira found me and asked me to see if anything was wrong. I tried, but I couldn't find anything wrong with any of you. You were just asleep. We even called Porlyusica-san, but she said that you are just asleep." Wendy recalled calmly.

"Wait, it is already morning?" Erza called out.

"Erza?" Warren questioned.

"Yes, I am here as well." Erza replied.

"Is everyone else there too?" Mira responded.

"Yes, all of us are here." Levy called out.

"Oh Levy, you sound so cute!" Mira cried out.

"Mira, focus!" Replied Erza, who was now standing up and addressing the ceiling. Mira giggled an apology.

"Anyway, were thinking of contacting some of the other guilds to see if they knew anything when Gray just started thrashing around and sweating. We had to hold him down to try and stop him from hitting his head on the ground. We tried again, but we still couldn't wake him." Wendy explained. At that statement Gray lowered his eyes to look at the floor so no one could see how pale his face had turned.

"Then we decided that we should try to talk to you, so I went to get Warren while Wendy kept an eye on you." Mira explained.

"What I want to know is how all of you are in the same place?" Warren questioned. "Usually contacting someone while they are asleep only affects that person."

"Well, we aren't sure what has happened either." Lucy was the next to speak up. "I remember being with everyone in the library and there was a blinding light."

"It was kind of like when Mystogan would come to the guild and put everyone to sleep without anyone noticing!" Levy exclaimed.

"Right, then when I opened my eyes we were here, wherever here is… and well…" Lucy continued not quite sure how to explain their child like appearances.

"And we are all back to how we were as children, or at least in child-like forms." Erza explained. "That and our guild marks are different…"

"Different?" Mira asked.

"They're empty," Gray clarified. "There's just the outline now."

"Hmm… Let me check." Wendy called out leaving the group silent for a few seconds before speaking again. "Well, it looks like your guild marks are okay, I don't see anything different."

"Strange…" Erza commented trying to think of what could cause such a thing to happen.

"Juvia thinks she knows what has happened now." Juvia called out in a small voice.

"Wait! Juvia, you are there too?" Mira called back.

"Yes, Juvia is here too." Juvia replied and her cheeks flushed a slight pink.

"Wait, Juvia you know what's going on with all of us?" Natsu called in an accusing voice, "Why didn't you say something sooner?"

"Shaddup, flame-brain! Let the rain-woman speak." Gajeel said while standing up and crossing his arms. A squeal of _"Gajeel sounds so cute!"_ could be heard in the background meanwhile, Lucy had her hands covering Natsu's retort to Gajeel's insult. "Go ahead, Juvia." Lucy encouraged while struggling to keep Natsu's mouth covered.

"Juvia thinks that this is a sleeping spell. Back when Juvia was a little girl, Juvia became frightened of a nightmare. Juvia's uncle told her that nightmares allow for a person to face their fears. Uncle explained that there are even some villages where people would cast spells to make a person have nightmares." Juvia explained, her eyes never leaving the stone floor.

"I've read about something like that." Levy said excitedly. "It was a very old practice in some villages where they would cast a spell on children when they come of age. They believed that once the children could master their fears that they were ready to be adults. The spell would put the children to sleep and when they had conquered their fears they would be able to wake up and be considered adults."

"So, let me get this straight." Lucy said, finally releasing Natsu from her grip. She stood up and put her hands on her hips. "We are all asleep and stuck in some kind of nightmare dream world? And the only way to get out is to 'master our fears', whatever the heck that means?"

"Well it does make the most sense Lu-chan." Levy replied to Lucy.

"It would also explain the things that I saw." Gray said. He had been able to keep his voice level, but one hand had formed a fist at his side and the other had a death grip on the pendant of his necklace.

"Yes, Juvia believes that it was Gray-sama's deepest fear, as a nightmare." Juvia said.

"If it is some kind of spell," Erza said and she began to pace around in circles with arms crossed. "Someone must have cast it or triggered it some way."

"I think I will try to contact Freed. He may be the best one to figure out where the spell came from or how to break it." Mira said thoughtfully.

"In the mean time we should move everyone to the infirmary. If you guys will be having nightmares like Gray, we don't want you guys to get hurt." Wendy chimed in.

"Oh, and Juvia?" Mira called out.

"Yes?" Juvia looked up expectantly.

"You aren't in the library with the others… Do you remember where you were before you fell asleep?" At Mira's question, everyone's head turned towards Juvia. Juvia's cheeks turned a bright red when everyone turned their attention to her. Quickly she looked down at her feet before replying. "Juvia was in the kitchen. Juvia wanted to get some ingredients to make cookies for Gray-sama…"

"Okay, I'll take a look there," Mira said with a giggle. Gray also had a slight pink to his cheeks that Erza spotted just before Gray looked down at the floor again, hiding his face. Erza smiled and her gaze fell to Jellal who was standing right behind Gray.

"Mira, wait." Erza called quickly. "Can you take a look for Jellal too?" At this Jellal blushed furiously and looked away from the group.

"Oh, really?" Mira giggles playfully. "Jellal what were you doing at the guild last night?"

"I came in on the second floor," Jellal said and looked up, making eye contact with Erza. His blush only deepened further when he continued speaking. "It is easier to sneak in on the second floor because there are fewer people…"

"Hehehe, I'll get you to talk later, Jellal!" The demon mage promised with a giggle. "While we take care of you guys, why don't you see what happens when you get past the nightmares?"

"Yes, I think that would be the best plan as well." Erza commented. "Keep us up to date on what you learn about this spell."

"Will do," Warren replied.

"Good luck you guys!" Wendy called out.

"We will contact you when we get a hold of Freed, hang in there!" Mira called out. The last of her words started to fade out and the group was left in silence.

"So, what's the plan now guys?" Levy spoke, eager to end the silence that had come over the group.

"I think that we should confront the nightmares, but seeing what happened with Gray, I think it is unwise to go alone." Erza commented. Gray kept his eyes fixed on the ground.

"Just because snow-flake couldn't take it, doesn't mean that I can't handle whatever that stupid hallway _―_ " Natsu started, jumping up from his spot on the floor.

"Shut up, Natsu." Lucy said, while smacking the dragon slayer upside the head. "Don't be so insensitive."

"I agree with Erza. It would be a good idea to take someone with us when we face our nightmares." Jellal spoke up. "At the very least, having someone else there could prevent us from being overwhelmed by the experience."

"Whatever," Gajeel called out, "So who goes down the creepy hall of horrors first?"

At that question, everyone started looking around at each other. No one spoke up right away. None of them were eager to see their worst fears come to life.


	5. Chapter 5

**Here's the next chapter. Review to let me know what you think!**

 **And I don't own Fairy Tail.**

* * *

 _"We do not fear the unknown. We fear what we project onto the unknown." -Teal Swan_

"Juvia will go first." The water mage said calmly looking around the room. "Juvia knows what it is that she fears the most." At this, everyone in the group looked towards Gray; the ice mage himself looked directly at Juvia, a fearful look in his eyes. Juvia met Gray's eyes and smiled sweetly.

"Love-rival?" Juvia said without taking her eyes off of Gray.

"Yes Juvia?" Lucy replied, not sure what the water mage was going to ask of her.

Only when Lucy had responded to her did Juvia finally break her gaze with Gray. She turned her gaze to the celestial wizard in her child form. "Will you accompany Juvia?"

"Me?" Lucy said, shocked. Lucy, and everyone else, expected that she would ask Gray to go with her, and if not Gray then surely Gajeel would have been the next choice. Lucy looked down at the floor unsure of herself. Lucy began to stumble on her words, not really sure what to say. "I… uh, well…"

Before she could say anymore, someone had grabbed her hands. Lucy looked up to see young Juvia had held both of Lucy's hands in her own. Juvia met Lucy's eyes and formed a small smile on her face. "Juvia believes that the best person to accompany Juvia on this task is Lucy. Juvia believes that Lucy will help Juvia face her biggest fear and help Juvia be brave."

Juvia spoke in a soft voice, but she had no doubts in what she told Lucy. Lucy took in her words for a moment, and returned a smile. "Okay, I'll do it."

"Juvia is glad love-rival has accepted." The water mage said with a genuine smile. She turned towards the looming hallway and began to walk towards it, still holding one hand with Lucy. Erza approached the two girls in front of the hallway before they could go much further.

"Be careful, you two. We may be in a dream-like state, but what we do here does have some impact on our bodies and we still don't know how much of an impact it has." Erza explained to the girls, but was loud enough for everyone to hear. Juvia and Lucy nodded. Erza then turned to look at Lucy, "While you are there with Juvia, try to take in as much information as you can. You might be able to learn something about how we can get out of here."

"Alright, I'll try my best." Lucy said.

With that, the two girls started walking down the strange hallway as the others watched them. With the dim lighting in the hallway, it wasn't long until the two girls were out of sight.

"You sure it was a good idea sending Bunny-girl and Juvia down the little hall of horrors together?" Gajeel scoffed and started walking towards Erza.

"You heard Juvia, Gajeel. She wanted to take Lucy with her." Erza said calmly while turning to face Gajeel and the others.

"Ya, I heard her, but maybe one of us should follow them case anythin' happens." Gajeel said, crossing his arms as he stopped in front of the requip mage.

"I don't think that's such a good idea, Gajeel." Levy's small voice came from behind the tall boy. The girl had climbed up on to part of a crumpled column and sat down with her feet dangling below her perch. "Nightmares can be confusing and disorienting to begin with, and we don't know if having Lu-chan there will change how the spell forms their nightmares. Besides, I believe in Lu-chan and Juvia. They can handle whatever gets thrown at them." Levy claimed with a small smile on her face. Gajeel stifled a "whatever" under his breath and headed back towards where Levy was perched.

* * *

Lucy walked hand in hand with Juvia in silence. They had only been walking for what seemed like a minute or two. When Lucy took a look behind her, she couldn't see the rest of the group anymore. She shifted her gaze back to where she and Juvia were walking, but there was really nothing to look at. For Lucy, this was unsettling. She wished that she was as confident as Juvia was about their task.

"Juvia?" Lucy called out.

"Yes?"

"You said you knew what your greatest fear was. What are you afraid of?" Lucy asked. At the question Juvia stopped walking. She turned to look at Lucy, her expression was calm but her eyes looked as though she wasn't there with Lucy in the creepy hallway.

"Juvia is afraid of the rain." She said calmly.

"But, I don't understand. You're a water mage, how can you be afraid of the rain?" Lucy asked. She wasn't sure how Juvia could be afraid of a little rain. In fact, it was raining when Lucy first met Juvia. She didn't look scared then; in fact she seemed devoid of emotion.

"Lucy misunderstands Juvia. Juvia is not afraid of rain that comes from the weather. Juvia is afraid of the rain that comes from Juvia. Ever since Juvia was a little girl, the rain followed Juvia everywhere. The rain stopped Juvia from making friends, from developing relationships, from trusting people, from being happy. Juvia does not know what started the rain or why the rain started." Juvia spoke softly and avoided eye contact with Lucy. Tears started to form from her eyes and her tiny hands gripped on to the skirt of her dress. She returned her watery gaze to the blonde girl.

"But then Juvia found Fairy Tail. While Juvia was fighting with Gray-sama, something happened and the rain left Juvia. Juvia knew that she needed Fairy Tail, that Fairy Tail kept the rain away, that Gray-sama kept the rain away. "Juvia took a shuddering breath and closed her eyes, "Then when Fairy Tail was broken apart, Juvia stayed with Gray-sama. But when Gray-sama disappeared, Juvia was haunted by the rain again. But for Juvia, it was worse than before. Juvia now knew what life was like without the rain and Juvia had lost it all to the rain again." The tears formed streams down the water mage's face. Lucy saw the girl's cheeks grow red and puffy from crying. Juvia wiped her hand across her face to try and clear the tears from her eyes.

"Although Fairy Tail and Gray-sama have come back, Juvia still remembers that time when the rain came back. Juvia is afraid that one day the rain will return, and it will consume Juvia." The bluenette sobbed at her confession.

Lucy stood there for a moment. Lucy understood that when she and Natsu found Juvia that she was depressed, but she never realized how terribly troubling it must have been for Juvia. Never in that moment had she seen the woman more vulnerable. Although she had never been close with the rain woman, Lucy felt a deep need at that moment to comfort and protect her. Lucy grabbed the crying girl in front of her and hugged her close.

"Juvia," Lucy started, "I won't let it happen. I will never let the rain consume you. Not as long as I have anything to say about it." The blonde proclaimed while rubbing Juvia's back in a comforting manner.

"Yes, that is why Juvia asked for Lucy to come with Juvia." Juvia said, sniffling slightly trying to clear her tears. "Lucy always believes the best in every situation. Lucy has the one thing that Juvia needs to face her fear."

"What is that Juvia?" Lucy asked, still hugging the water mage.

"Hope. Lucy always has hope, even when no one else does." Juvia said and pulled herself out of the hug. She wiped her eyes and looked at Lucy with a small smile. Lucy stood back and returned with a smile. Suddenly Lucy was not as apprehensive about facing what Juvia feared. There was something about Juvia's faith in Lucy that had changed her entire outlook.

"Okay then." Lucy said and took Juvia's hand again. "I'll be with you the whole way through. You can do this thing."

"Yes, let us continue." Juvia said with a nod, and the two continued down the hall.

* * *

Jellal walked over to the young Gray and sat down beside him.

"So, ready to talk about what happened?" The blue haired boy asked, not making eye contact with the dark haired boy. Gray had been sitting in the same spot since the girls left. He took a quick look over at Jellal and then looked around the room. Erza was pacing around the room. Natsu was just as restless, kicking a piece of rubble back and forth across the room. Even Gajeel and Levy looked nervous. Levy kicked her legs and let them sway back and forth while Gajeel had become incredibly interested in attempting to remove a piece of metal from his clothing.

"What is there really to talk about?" Gray huffed. He adjusted so that his legs were in front of him and he let his forearms rest against his bent knees.

"You just saw two women and not just any women. Those women made huge sacrifices for you Gray, what isn't there to talk about?" Jellal let out a soft chuckle. Jellal mimicked Gray's sitting position, still not making eye contact with the ice-make mage. Gray made a quick questioning glance back at Jellal. "Don't forget, I spent nearly seven years with Ultear, there were few secrets between us."

Gray took a deep breath and turned his gaze to the floor. He slowly released the air from his lungs before he started to speak. "They were right."

"Who was right?" Jellal questioned.

"Ur and Ultear. Back in that hallway, they said that I was useless, a waste of space. They gave their lives for me, and what have I done in return?" Gray asked, keeping his voice low, never lifting his eyes from the ground.

"So that's what this is all about? You think that they deserved better? Or do you think that you were unworthy of them?" Jellal questioned the boy next to him.

"I…" Gray started, but was almost immediately cut off by Jellal again.

"Gray, you have been dealt a shit hand in life. How old were you when your hometown was destroyed?" Jellal didn't wait for Gray to respond to his question. "Then you found a positive force in your life with Ur. She took you in, took care of you, gave you the skills to be a powerful mage, and then you were tested when you lost her too." Jellal continued, but this time it was his turn to be interrupted.

"Because of my mistake… I lost her because I was so caught up in trying to stop that damn demon that I didn't think of the consequences. It was all my fault…" Gray's voice cracked, stopping him from continuing his self-depreciating rant. Jellal sat up and crossed his legs.

"You know what I hear, Gray?" Jellal said with a slight smile on his face. "I hear that you experienced something terrible. You lost everything and everyone and when you heard that the same thing could happen to someone else, you decided that you would do everything in your power to stop it."

"But, look where it's got me. Ur died, she lost her life. She never got a chance to reconnect with her daughter because of me. I was too stupid to realize that I never stood a chance. I made a stupid choice, a selfish choice…" Gray seemed to only get more frustrated the longer he talked to Jellal.

"You can see it that way, but let me put a different spin on things. Ur knew that you were headed to your death and she followed you." Jellal said calmly. "When she found you, she could have grabbed you and Lyon and made a run for it. All of you would have been alive. Instead, Ur chose to end the thing that caused you so much heartache. She put an end to the thing that caused you so much pain. She chose to act compassionately."

"Ultear acted similarly. She wanted to change herself. She saw all the misery that she brought to others and worked her ass off to make things right in the world. Back in Crocus, she saw things were going badly. She chose to give everything that she had, all of her time left to give everyone a second chance."Jellal looked over at Gray with a smile, a genuine smile. "Everything that I know about you and Fairy Tail tells me that you are right where Ur and Ultear would want you to be. You care about your companions, you act compassionately," and Jellal added with a shit eating grin, "and you're not a bad mage either."

Gray lifted his eyes to look at Jellal. He had never had a close connection with the man, well, boy at the moment. He remembered how he had reacted when Jellal was the cause of Erza's tears, but he had changed since then. The boy in front of him was so genuine at the moment, Gray couldn't help but trust that Jellal believed everything he told Gray. If only he could believe those words.

"Maybe," Gray mumbled after a long pause.

"Give it some thought Gray," Jellal replied, a slight smile still stuck on his face.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hi everyone! Thanks to everyone who followed and/or reviewed. I have been sharing your reviews with my editor (aka my brother). He appreciates the reviews also. I have a slightly extended author's note at the end of this chapter to address some concerns that were expressed via reviews. Thanks again.**

 **Oh and I don't own Fairy Tail.**

* * *

 _Too many of us are not living our dreams because we are living our fears. -Les Brown_

The two young girls continued their walk through the dark and dreary stone hall. The hallway was very dimly lit, so Lucy couldn't see more than a few feet in front of them. Lucy expected that the empty hall would echo their footsteps, but it the hallway was distinctly silent. The silence was so eerie, it was unsettling. With their next step, part of the hall began to glow. Lucy let out a yelp in surprise and the two girls shifted backwards, the mysterious glow receded as well.

"What was that?" Lucy asked while placing a hand over her heart in an attempt to regain her calm.

"Juvia does not know," said calmly, "but Juvia suspects that it is part of the spell."

Juvia continued to walk forward with a sense of conviction. Lucy watched as the glow became more distinct and turned a blue color as Juvia walked through it. Lucy watched in slight amazement as the blue glow slowly faded out before she took a step through herself. However, when Lucy passed the same spot, the hall didn't glow at all. Lucy thought that it was odd, but what was weirder was the sight before her.

What had been the hallway that the girls travelled through had changed almost completely. Instead was what appeared to be the inside of a house. The floor was hardwood, and the walls had been painted a cool grey-blue color. There was a light colored rug that covered the floor and toys were scattered about the room. Lucy took a look back from where the two girls had come from. The dark and foreboding hallway was still there, but in between where the girls stood and the stone hallway was a door. It gave Lucy the impression that she as Juvia had entered the house through a closet.

Lucy moved forward to look around at their new surroundings. She could see the beginning of another room attached to the living room on the right side and to the left there was a hallway that continued to the rest of the house. Although the room they were in was well lit, a fierce rain storm could be seen through the window causing the outside to appear almost pitch black. The sound of the rain was so distinct that it seemed to be everywhere.

"Where are we, Juvia?" Lucy asked, trying to take in as much as she could about their new environment.

"Juvia does not know, Juvia has never been to this place." Juvia said, just as curious as Lucy.

A knock sounded throughout the room causing the young girls to jump. From around the corner of the room came the adult Gray Fullbuster. He was in his usual state of partial undress. He wore black pants, but had no shoes or socks. He still had his trademark necklace hanging from his neck and his blue Fairy Tail mark still adorned his chest.

"I'm coming." He called out, walking towards a door on the other side of the room. Juvia's eyes followed him as he moved quickly to the door. He took a deep breath and ran his hands through his hair before opening the door and welcoming two people into his home. Gajeel and Levy walked into the home and out of the rain. Young Lucy couldn't help but smile when she saw that Levy and Gajeel were holding hands.

"Thanks for doing this, guys." Gray said, but there was something amiss about him. "You have no idea how much this means to me… to us."

"Don't worry about it Gray." Levy said as she pulled him into a tight hug. "We are more than willing to help out anyway we can."

"Has there been any change?" Gajeel asked in a low and sorrowful voice. Gray met his eyes and shook his head.

"Porlyusica has been by already been by and she refuses to come by any more. Wendy has been by at least twice this week. They both say that there is nothing physically wrong, but…" Gray's voice cracked and he covered his face with one of his hands.

"You are doing the right thing, Gray." Levy assured him as she gently pulled out of the hug.

"I know, it's just…" But Gray never finished his sentence. A small squeal could be heard from down the hallway drawing the attention of Juvia and Lucy. A small girl, no older than three or four years old came running towards Levy and Gajeel.

"Auntie Levy," she squealed and jumped into the arms of the script mage. Levy smiled wide as she held the young girl. The young girl had black hair, already past her shoulders. Her features were soft and gentle and her eyes were a bright blue.

"Hey there Lumi,"Levy replied to the small girl. "Where is your brother?"

"He's still trying to find one of his shoes. He takes them off without realizing it and then can't find them later…" Lumi said in a matter of fact fashion. This caused Levy and Gajeel to chuckle.

"I found them," came the voice of a boy from down the hall. A boy, no older than six or seven, entered from a room in the hallway. He had one shoe on and was struggling to walk and put on the other shoe at the same time. When he looked up, Lucy gasped. The boy could have been Gray's identical twin. The boy has the same face, the same hair, the same nose, but his eyes were different. His eyes were a deep ocean blue.

"Juvia," Lucy said in awe. "He has your eyes." Juvia stood still taking in the sight. The young boy and girl were so energetic. Gajeel went to meet the young boy and picked him up swinging him over his shoulder. The boy giggled and was almost out of breath when Gajeel put the boy down.

"How's it goin', Kai? You ready to train with me and Pantherlily this week?" Gajeel said, kneeling down to the boy's height.

"Hell yeah!" The boy exclaimed and Gajeel ruffled the boy's hair.

"Okay you two, say good-bye to your Dad before we go." Levy said, putting the little girl back on the ground and turning to grab the children's coats. Gajeel had already picked up to small duffle bags and held them over his shoulder.

Both of the small children turned to Gray, who knelt down on one knee and held out his arms. The children jumped into his arms and Gray gripped them tightly.

"Kai, take care of your sister this week, okay?" Gray instructed. The boy replied with a nod, not loosening his grip on the ice-make mage.

"And Lumi," Gray started with a small smile forming on his face.

"Yes, Daddy?" The small girl replied.

"Be sure to behave for Auntie Levy," Gray instructed and tightened his grip on the two young children.

"I will Daddy. I promise." The little girl said in the most serious voice she could muster, though her voice sounded more sweet and innocent than anything.

"I love you both very much." Gray said, pulling out of the hug.

"Love you too, Dad." Kai said with a small smile before turning and taking Gajeel's hand. Lumi turned over to Levy, who picked up the small child. With one last kiss to his children, he opened the door and watched the two disappear into the storm with his guild mates.

Gray closed the door and leaned back against it, allowing his body to slide down until he sat on the ground with his eyes closed. The man allowed himself to take a few deep breaths as he sat on the floor. This was the first time that Juvia and Lucy had really gotten a good look at his face, and it was unsettling. His face was tired, his eyes held deep circles. The skin around his eyes almost looked bruised and stress lines adorned his forehead. As he took some deep breaths, one hand came up to grip the pendant that hung around his neck.

"Gray-sama," young Juvia cried in a sad and quiet voice. She approached the man and held out her small hand to cup his face. She was left disappointed when she couldn't touch him, her hand passed through his form as if she was a ghost. Lucy could see the tears beginning to form in her eyes.

Gray opened his eyes and took another deep breath before releasing the grip on his pendant. He stood up and made his way down the hallway to the left side of the house. Juvia followed him and Lucy slowly followed after. At the end of the hall, Gray entered a room. Juvia stopped at the open door. Lucy walked up to her and looked into the room curiously.

The room was dark, the darkest part of the house so far. The curtains were open, and rain could be heard against the window. The room looked to have been decorated in a variety of blues, from the curtains, to the carpet, down to the sheets on the bed. If the sun were shining, the colors would have made the room bright and cheerful. However, the darkness in the room left the blue colors looking grey or black. It made the room look dull and grim. Near the window of the room was the bed and next to the bed was a simple chair. Gray had walked over and sat in the chair, facing the bed. It was then that Lucy and Juvia noticed a figure lying in the bed. It appeared to be a woman; her skin was pale with no color on her cheeks at all. She was propped up in a reclined position in the bed and dressed in her bed clothes. She was thin and frail looking. Her hair was a dark, dull blue color and the oily locks hung close to her head as if it had not been washed in a long time. Lucy took in a sharp breath. At the same time, Juvia's eyes widened in recognition. Juvia was looking at herself.

The most disturbing part of the appearance of the adult Juvia in the bed was her eyes. The woman's eyes were open, but it was as if she wasn't looking at anyone. Her head and eyes were fixed in place and didn't move as Gray entered the room or when he sat down in the chair to be close to her. When the woman remained unmoving as Gray took her hand into both of his hands, Lucy began to wonder if the woman was even alive.

Lucy took the young Juvia's hand in hers and walked towards the bed to be able to see the scene more clearly. It was then that Lucy could see the adult Juvia's chest rise slowly with breath, assuring the young girl that she was, indeed, alive. _If you can call this living,_ young Lucy thought to herself.

Gray brought Juvia's hand to his mouth and kissed it gently before rubbing his fingers over her knuckles. He took a deep breath and addressed the woman in a seemingly catatonic state.

"Hey, babe," He said, though his voice was clearly shaky. "I had Levy and Gajeel take the kids for a while so that I can focus on you." The young Juvia pulled her eyes off of the shell of a woman in the bed and let go of Lucy's hand to walk towards Gray's side.

"I didn't want them to worry about you," Gray continued to talk to the woman; though she made no indication that she heard him. "I know that Kai has suspected that something has been wrong for a while. When Lumi started to ask," Gray's voice cracked and tears could be visibly seen falling from his eyes. "When she asked when you would get better, I didn't know what to tell her. She said when you aren't sick any more that you could play 'tea time' with her again."

"I didn't want to send them away, but I just couldn't do it any more Juvia," Gray cried, bringing Juvia's hand to cup his face, looking for some kind of comfort, some kind of response, anything to indicate that she was listening. "I tell them every day how much you love them, and I know that they love you too." Gray stopped speaking, allowing himself to cry and soak in the sound of the rain that filled the background.

"I can't be worrying about them and you at the same time. I don't want their memories of their mother to be like this. Please don't let this be the last that they see of you. I don't want them to grow up without their mother. They miss you." The young Juvia tried to reach out again to cup Gray's face, but again she was unable to touch him. Like a ghost, her hand passed right through Gray. It was as if she wasn't there at all. Tears began to spill from her eyes.

"I miss you. So please, don't waste away, Juvia. Wendy said that you just have to fight this, whatever it is, just find a reason to come back to us. Just come back to me Juvia, whatever it takes. I don't want to lose you." Gray cried even harder, looking straight into the dull eyes of the shell of a woman. As he spoke, her eyes would blink, but they remain passive and unresponsive. "So I'm going to go and make you soup, and I am going to feed it to you and you'll get your strength back." The words seemed to be more to reassure himself than for her. "I won't lose you too Juvia, I love you too much to lose you." Gray whispered. Then he kissed the woman's hand and placed it back on to the bed. "I'll be right back." He leaned forward with tears still in his eyes and kissed the woman's forehead before standing and leaving the room.

Lucy was speechless. Even when her mother was sick, Layla was never so unresponsive. It hurt Lucy to see how broken Gray was, and yet he was so dedicated to trying to save Juvia. Her heart hurt. But Lucy could only imagine what Juvia was feeling, watching Gray be destroyed by his sorrow while her adult-self appeared to be wasting away. Lucy looked at the young water mage, who appeared to be just as frozen, her eyes stuck where she had seen Gray disappear from the room. Lucy was about to say something to Juvia when something in her eyes changed.

Young Juvia's eyes turned from shock and sorrow, to rage. She climbed her way on to the bed and faced her catatonic counterpart. Her face began to turn red and her hands formed fists at her sides.

"How could you do that to Gray-sama?" The small bluenette yelled at the woman in bed. "Gray-sama loves Juvia, Gray-sama has made a life with Juvia. Juvia has given Gray-sama children and now Juvia will just sit and do nothing!" Lucy was wrong. The small water mage wasn't just angry, she was infuriated. Tears formed streams from her eyes and down her face. If Juvia had noticed, she didn't care to wipe them away, but instead continued to yell. "Gray-sama has already lost so much, and you! You are being selfish." She screamed and pointed accusingly at the woman in the bed. Her screams caused young Lucy to cover her ears and cringe at the sight.

"You have everything that you have ever wanted here, and you cannot get up to be with your children? To be with Gray-sama's children? How could you do that to Gray-sama? How could you do this to Kai and little, sweet Lumi?" Juvia continued on her angry tirade before her voice began to crack and she fell to her knees on the bed.

"How could you do this to Juvia?" The young Juvia said and then fell forward onto the bed as her cries turned into hysterics. Lucy uncovered her ears and climbed up onto the bed to go to Juvia. Lucy pushed Juvia to sit up and pulled her into a tight hug. Lucy could feel the tears in her own eyes as she finally understood.

"Juvia, is this what happened to your mother?"

* * *

 _Juvia remembered the day that her Uncle picked her up. She had gone to tell her mother good-bye. She remembered the blank look on her mother's face, absent of all recognition. She remembered how it made her feel empty and cold…_

 _She had been told the day before by her grandmother to pack all of her things. She didn't have much, but she remembered the rag doll that her mother had helped her make when she wasn't so… gone. Her mother's room seemed so dark, despite all the lights shining in the room._

 _"_ _Mama, its Juvia." Juvia had said after she climbed into her mother's bed. She had sat right next to her mother. She remembered that her eyes felt endless… empty…_

 _"_ _Juvia has the doll that Juvia and Mama had made together." The young girl said as she looked down at the doll. The doll had been made with a smile stitched on her face and a simple white dress._

 _"_ _Juvia remembers that Mama was happy that day." Juvia picked up her mother's hand so that she could rest the doll underneath it. "Juvia thinks that maybe the doll will make Mama better again. Then Mama can help Juvia make a new doll." Then Juvia hugged her mother before hearing her uncle say it was time to go._

 _She remembered the long carriage ride going to a place called Oak Town. She remembered the sound of the rain as it fell against the carriage._

 _Drip… drip… drop…_

* * *

Lucy hugged the girl and tried to calm her down, whispering comforting words to the girl. The sobs had Juvia shaking.

"Juvia's mother…" Juvia tried to say between sobs. "… was the same… way. Juvia's Uncle came… to get Juvia. Juvia never saw… Juvia's mother… again."

"Shh," Lucy whispered as she rubbed Juvia's back. It was a while before Juvia could stop crying long enough to speak again.

"Uncle and Juvia received the letter two weeks later." Juvia said as she pulled away from Lucy and wiped her eyes on the back on her hand.

"When Juvia asked why Mother had died, Uncle said it was sadness that came with the rain." The young water mage said, sniffling occasionally. "Juvia had learned so many things from Mother. Mother taught Juvia to sew and to make tea, and to control the movement of the water. So when the rain followed Juvia… Juvia wonders if Mother gave Juvia the rain too."

"But, Juvia…" Lucy said, causing Juvia to look up at her. "You are not your mother."

"But Juvia _―_ "

"You protected Gray with your water magic when we were attacked at the resort. You took a hit from one of Laxus's thunder lacrimas just to prove how loyal you were to Fairy Tail. You protected Gray from Meredy when she was going to try to kill him by killing herself."

Juvia looked away from Lucy as she spoke, remembering the events as well.

"Juvia," Lucy said trying to get the young water mage to look at her again, "I don't think that you could ever do this to Gray or to anyone."

"How can Lucy be so sure?" Juvia questioned with uncertainty in her voice.

"Because, you know how it feels to be left that way… and you would rather face anything than put someone else through that pain." Lucy reasoned. It was then that Lucy began to notice a change. Lucy couldn't quite tell what was different, but something had definitely changed.

"Thank you, Lucy." Juvia said and wiped away a few stray tears from her eyes. "Lucy has given Juvia something to remember."

"What's that?" Lucy asked, a little confused by the comment.

"That Juvia is willing to go through everything and anything for the ones that Juvia loves, and that makes Juvia happy. Helping others and being there for others makes Juvia happy." Juvia said with a smile on her face before reaching over to hug Lucy.

"Juvia believes it is time to return to the others." The young Juvia said quietly as she released Lucy from the hug. Juvia sounded more confident, although she was still sniffling from her tears.

"How do you know?" Lucy asked.

"Because Juvia knows that Juvia's fear is not stronger than Juvia's desire to protect her family," she said as she started to climb down from off of the bed. Lucy moved to follow her when Juvia suddenly stopped.

"And the rain has stopped."

Lucy looked around and noticed for the first time that she couldn't hear the rain. She quickly ran to the window and saw that Juvia was right. The rain had stopped and the sun was beginning to peak its way into room. With a smile on her face, she ran to catch up with the young water mage.

* * *

 **Just as an FYI:**

 **Kai- Hawaiian for ocean/sea (I know that Kai has a million different other definitions in different languages, this is the one I am using. :p)**

 **Lumi- Finnish for snow**

 **First off, to Dinoadge (the self-proclaimed grammar and spelling Nazi): my editor says, and I quote, "I got you, boo!" (It's my brother, sometimes I just don't question it).**

 **Next were several concerns brought up by Crimsonlink310.**

 **1\. I am not deliberately trying to bash Natsu. When I wrote, "to anyone who was willing to listen", I meant that he was not addressing anyone in particular and not that he was attention seeking. I also do not think that Natsu is stupid. I think that he lacks the context needed to appropriately respond to social cues. That being said, he was raised by a dragon and likely knows how to read dragon better than he knows Fioran. I really think that when he wants to he can think his way through tough situations, I think most of the time he lacks the motivation to.**

 **2\. The comment Natsu made about Gray and the women in his life was meant to be over the line. It was meant to be more than a little childish and immature. It was supposed to be insensitive and hurtful, enough so that Gray needed to get away from Natsu in order to cool off. You aren't meant to like it. I didn't like to write it, but it served a purpose to move the story forward. At the same time, it is within Natsu's character to lash out when he is stressed over something he can't control. We see that in the anime, episode 20 when Natsu lashes out at Lucy after he and Happy get into an argument.**

 **3\. In chapter 4, Natsu mentions that he can take whatever is down the hallway, but then later when Gajeel asks who is going first everyone is quiet. I didn't think this was an inconsistency in the story line because Natsu didn't say that he would go first. In fact, it was more him trying to say he we tougher than Gray than him saying he would go first. The fact that all of them took more than a little bit of a pause is an indication that they are all apprehensive of the situation.**

 **Anyway… Sorry for the rant. I go through many of these conversations with my editor before I publish to make sure that everything is in character and consistent.**

 **Thanks for putting up with me and please review to let me know what you think!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hi everyone! So a ton of stuff happened since Sunday and, here in the USA, we had a three day weekend. All that really means is that I got confused as to what day it was and when I finally realized it was almost Thursday, I decided to post an update. Then I realized that this chapter is relatively short, and I feel bad, so I'll be posting the next chapter too. Thanks for reading and let me know what you think by reviewing.**

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 _"_ _Don't be afraid of being scared. To be afraid is a sign of common sense. Only complete idiots are not afraid of anything."_

 _―_ _Carlos Ruiz Zafón_

Gray took a look around the room at his comrades. He noticed that everyone seemed to be on edge. The young Natsu had gone from kicking rocks to training, doing kicks and flips to avoid imaginary enemies. Levy had a concerned look on her face and was attempting to draw the young Gajeel into conversation. Gajeel on the other hand was pacing near the tiny script mage and seemed to be ignoring her. Erza had found a wall to lean against as she watched everyone else occasionally looking towards the taunting hallway looking for Lucy and Juvia.

"I've got a question for you," Gray said and shifted so that he was sitting facing the blue haired boy next to him. "All of us here are clearly distressed by what is going on. Why the hell are you so happy?"

The young Jellal couldn't help but smile at the question. He even let out a brief chuckle. Gray had noticed that he was the only one with a smile on his face.

"There's a pretty simple answer to that." He commented. "As a child, I was always so confident. An optimist, if you will. Back as a slave at the Tower of Heaven, I could always see the good in every situation."

"Now don't get me wrong, there was nothing really to be that happy about. The work was hard, the food was terrible, the cells were cold, and we were all dressed in rags. But in reality I had everything that I really wanted, I had the people that I cared about." Without any hesitation, his gaze fell on the scarlet haired girl, watching her as she adjusted her position against the wall. "I had hope for the future, that things would get better and that we would escape, but until then I had everything that I needed. Nothing else mattered."

"My tragedy did not come until later." Jellal stated, returning his attention to Gray. "This body, it brings back those happy memories of when I was a child, much in the same way that it brings back negative memories for you." Gray nodded in understanding and a slight smirk appeared.

"You really do love her." Gray said. There was no need to say who Gray was referring to. Both boys knew that Jellal only had eyes for the red haired requip mage.

"I really do," Jellal replied with a small blush appearing on his face.

"You do know that she loves you too?" Gray asked and one eyebrow lifted ever so slightly. This was only confirmed when Jellal's blush deepened. But Gray noticed something different in Jellal's demeanor.

"Yeah, I know." Jellal replied and his smile disappeared followed quickly by the blush that had dusted his cheeks. _I just wish that it was enough,_ Jellal thought.

Gray had a feeling that there was more going on in Jellal's head but allowed the silence of the room to take over their conversation. He didn't feel like prying the boy away from his thoughts.

* * *

"Gajeel, are you okay? You've been so quiet." Levy said from her perch on one of the broken columns. She had been watching the iron dragon slayer as he paced back and forth. He hadn't stopped moving since Lucy and Juvia had left. He had always been quiet and withdrawn, but this pacing wasn't about being quiet or withdrawn.

"Fine." The dragon slayer gave a curt response. It was clear that Levy didn't believe him. Their year working for the Council together gave Levy more insight into Gajeel's habits. This was one of his nervous habits.

"Juvia and Lucy will be alright. They are both strong and can take care of each other." Levy continued in a reassuring manner. The young Gajeel just huffed in response. Levy took her eyes off of him and looked at her shoes. "That's not it, is it?"

Gajeel just seemed to be ignoring her, and that's part of what startled her the most. He didn't want to look at her and Levy had the feeling that he didn't want to look at anyone. Or be here… at all.

"Gajeel, I'm sure that we will get through this in no time. You don't have to be afraid." Levy tried to sooth his anxieties.

"I ain't afraid." Gajeel said, shooting the small girl a fierce glance.

"Everyone is afraid of something. It's okay to admit it if yo—" Levy tried to reply, but Gajeel cut her off and got up close to her. His face was inches from hers. Despite his gruff voice, his speech was clear.

"I ain't afraid of nothin', Shrimp." Gajeel's inflection was unmistakably dark and practically dared Levy to contradict him. Levy kept her gaze fixed on Gajeel's red eyes. She could tell that at the very least he was on edge, but Levy had a feeling that it went much deeper than that. Levy never got a chance to say anything before hearing the familiar voices of Juvia and Lucy coming from the hallway.

"We're back." Lucy called to the other young mages. She and Juvia entered the ruined stone room. Erza was the first to approach the two girls, followed by Levy who embraced the two girls. Gajeel remained where he was, but shifted his gaze to Juvia and Lucy before looking down at the ground again. Jellal and Gray stood up from their spots and Natsu gave a small grin as the three made their way to the two girls.

"How did it go?" Erza asked.

"Juvia believes that it went well. It would have been worse for Juvia if Lucy had not been there." Juvia commented giving Lucy a smile.

"Did you learn anything about this place?" Jellal inquired calmly.

"Well," Lucy began, "there is this spot in the hall where the nightmare started. It made the hallway glow a blue color when we passed it." Lucy recalled. She explained that she saw it just before entering the house of Juvia's dream world and then again once they left the house.

"It sounds like there is something that separates this room and the hallway from where the fear takes control." Levy chimed in after listening to Lucy's description.

"That's a little comforting," Gray commented. "It means our fears can't follow us back here."

"When Juvia faced her dream, Juvia no longer felt overwhelmed. Juvia did see that when she was not controlled by her fear, the dream had changed." The young water mage explained to the group. "But Juvia expects that this may be different for everyone depending on what the person is afraid of."

"So we still don't know what the heck to expect when we cross that stupid glowing line thingy?" Natsu asked, crossing his arms with a huff.

"Clearly, we can't expect for all of us to be afraid of the same thing." Erza commented. "I think we should still have everyone go with a partner. It was easier on Juvia with Lucy there—"

"I don't need anyone to go with me, I ain't afraid." Gajeel called out heading closer to the group.

"Hey, I'm not afraid either!" Natsu called out, reacting as if Gajeel had issued a challenge.

"Guys, this isn't the time for this." Lucy said with an exasperated sigh.

"I don't care. Everyone will go down that hall with a partner whether you are afraid or not. Have I made myself clear, Natsu?" Erza commanded as she stared down the fire dragon slayer.

"Yeah, yeah, I got it…" Natsu said looking away from Erza.

"Do you understand, Gajeel?" Erza turned towards the iron dragon slayer to find that he was gone. She quickly turned to look around the room. "Gajeel?"

"Oh no," Levy sighed as she looked around the room too.

"Where did that bucket of bolts go?" Gray cursed.

"You don't think he went down there by himself, do you?" Lucy asked and gave Levy a worried look.

"Gajeel-kun is very proud. He likes his privacy. Juvia thinks that Gajeel-kun would not want anyone to be with him when he faces his fear. Gajeel-kun does not like to appear vulnerable." Juvia said calmly looking down the hallway. The dim lighting made it so that no one could see anything down the hall.

"Idiot," Erza cursed.

"I'll go after him," Jellal offered and started walking towards the hall.

"No," Levy said and put a hand on Jellal's chest to stop him from going any further. "You don't know him all that well. He won't react well to you, and if he's scared…" Levy took a deep breath and shook her head before she continued to speak. "I'll go."

"Are you sure, Levy-chan?" Lucy asked and gave the small bluenette a worried look.

"I'm sure, Lu-chan." Levy said with a smile and gave the blonde a quick hug.

"Fine, but be careful Levy." Erza said before nodding to the young script mage to go ahead.

"I will." Levy said and without a second thought, she took off running down the hall.

 _You are in so much trouble when I catch up to you, Gajeel._


	8. Chapter 8

_"_ _You learned to run from what you feel, and that's why you have nightmares. To deny is to invite madness. To accept is to control."_

 _―_ _Megan Chance, The Spiritualist_

* * *

Gajeel was sick of this stupid place. Being stuck in that stupid circular room with all the stupid stone ruins and being stuck as some dumb-ass kid. The sound was probably the worst of it. It was so different from his usual dragon slayer hearing where he could hear the sounds of people breathing, hearts beating, the air moving, it all made everything sound slightly muffled. There was always somethin' to focus on and get lost in instead of these damned thoughts in his head. Here it was too quiet. Each sound seemed to be that much louder, more distinct, unsettling… annoying. Gajeel could hear each and every damn step from people pacing and then Salamander doin' his damn training routine. Then Levy trying to get him to fuckin' talk about bein' afraid.

 _Huh, I ain't afraid._ Gajeel kept telling himself and he walked further down the hall. He was glad that nothing had happened to bunny girl and rain woman, but he was tired of this whole thing. He was tired of waitin' and listenin' to all those damn footsteps. So, when Erza turned to reign in Salamander, Gajeel took the opportunity to leave before anyone could follow him. He didn't need anyone to come with him. There was nothing down this hallway that could scare him anyway.

The child dragon slayer perked his ears up when he heard footsteps approaching from behind him. _So they sent someone in after me._ He wondered for a moment who they would send, but never once did he look back. It didn't matter at this point, he would just tell them to go back, he didn't need anyone to protect him from anything.

"Gajeel!" The person running towards him shouted. Gajeel recognized the voice immediately and he ran a hand through his rough hair with a sigh before calling out to them. "Go back, Shrimp."

"No way," Levy called back as she finally caught up with the iron dragon slayer. "Erza said no one goes alone, so either you go back and decide who you want as a partner, or we go through this together."

"Fine, stay, whatever…" Gajeel huffed and continued walking down the hall. "It's not like anythin's gonna happen. I told ya, I ain't scared."

"No, what you are is a fool." Levy said with her arms crossed while walking beside the dragon slayer.

"What the hell you talkin' about, Shrimp?" Gajeel questioned with a raised brow.

"Everyone is afraid of something, Gajeel," Levy said as she pushed herself ahead of the young dragon slayer and stopped forcing Gajeel to face her or try to move around her. Gajeel stopped and looked at Levy. In their child like states, Levy was only about a head shorter than Gajeel, so she didn't look nearly as puny. She had a smirk on her face as she stared into his eyes. "You choosing to ignore whatever you are afraid of just makes you a fool."

"Whatever…" He mumbled and moved around her to continue his trek down the hallway. Levy continued a step or two behind him, when something strange caught her eyes. It was as if something dark pulsed down the hallway, but it didn't last for more than second.

"What was that?" Levy questioned, taking a few hurried steps to walk next to Gajeel and took a look behind her. But Gajeel didn't seem to be paying attention to whatever was behind him.

"Woah…" He mumbled as the scene before him changed. Levy turned her gaze from behind her to look at what Gajeel had seen. Where seemingly endless stone hallway once was had been replaced with what appeared to be a town. It was dark, but the paved streets that were illuminated by the street lamps were all too familiar to the two mages.

"We're back in Magnolia?" Levy questioned, recognizing the street names of the town she knew so well.

"Nah," Gajeel stated and motioned to their bodies. "We're still kids. This is some kinda illusion."

"Gajeel, look." Levy mentioned to where they had come from. At the point where two buildings should have formed a small gap was an opening about the size of a door. Levy and Gajeel could see the stone hallway in the opening. Levy couldn't help but feel a little startled by the sight, thinking about how the whole thing defied logic.

"So we must be in your dream." Gajeel commented and returned to look at the streets of Magnolia.

"This isn't my dream, Gajeel." Levy tried to argue.

"Well it ain't mine. I ain't afraid." Gajeel retorted. Levy opened her mouth to tell the iron dragon slayer off when they were interrupted by a scream. The two shared a look before running in the direction of the screams.

Levy kept looking down the alleys as they ran trying to find the owner of the scream. Gajeel however seemed to know exactly where they were headed and Levy didn't fail to notice.

"Gajeel, do you know where that scream came from?" Levy called out as she caught up with her partner.

"Yeah, it's coming from the park." He said. They were about a block away from the source of the screaming. Levy tried to figure out how he knew where to look when another muffled yell rang out in the night. As they turned the corner to enter the park, Levy was hit with the sudden realization. It was _that_ night. Gajeel came to a sudden stop to be confronted with a scene he was all too familiar with, and he hated that he was familiar with it.

Levy and Gajeel were unsettled by the scene. There was Gajeel, the adult Gajeel, a smirk on his lips as he looked up at his handiwork. The largest tree in Magnolia Park was now home to three individuals, beaten, bloody, broken, and nailed to the tree in plain view. Team Shadow Gear was already unconscious and the small figure in the middle, the adult Levy, with Phantom Lord's emblem branded on her stomach for the world to see.

Levy remembered very specific things from that night. She remembered the fear that struck from the sudden attack, trying her hardest to put up some kind of fight as the vicious iron dragon slayer took out Jet and Droy so quickly, and the worry she had for her team just before losing consciousness. She remembered waking up in the hospital later and how gun-shy she was to go out on her own. She remembered how long it took to get over that fear, and how it was temporarily reawakened when Gajeel and Juvia joined the guild. But that was so long ago; she didn't feel afraid now.

"Shrimp, I know I've never said it before, but I am sorry." Gajeel said, looking down at the ground instead of at Levy or at the memory before him. "I was stupid, and I am sorry that it still upsets you so much…"

"Gajeel," Levy started and walked up to the young dragon slayer. She took his face in her hands to bring his eyes to connect with hers. "I was afraid, but I am not afraid of this anymore."

"Gihihi, the mini-Shrimp is right." Both young mages jumped suddenly as the adult Gajeel turned around and looked directly at them. His smirk only widened forming a twisted, almost sadistic looking smile.

"W-w-what?" The young Gajeel stuttered, watching wide-eyed as his older counterpart began to take a few steps in their direction.

"Gihihi, you heard me little man. The only one who smells like fear here is you."

* * *

It was easy for Erza to tell when there was something wrong with the fire dragon slayer. Normally, Natsu would be happy to talk and hang out with his nakama. Even when he had his long training sessions, he would have Happy or Lucy come along with him. Maybe it was something that developed from having lost Igneel. If you were constantly around the people you cared about, then they couldn't leave you. The thing that made Erza suspect that there was something bothering Natsu was that he was trying to be alone.

 _As alone as you can get in a room of people,_ Erza thought to herself. She had been keeping tabs on everybody since this whole fiasco had started. When the group had found out about having to face their fears, he had secluded himself from the group. Erza thought that this was because Lucy had disappeared with Juvia, but when Lucy came back, Natsu returned to his training routine. Lucy didn't seem to mind. In fact, she had started a discussion with Gray, who was actually engaging. Erza gave a slight smile at the sight and then made her way to the fire dragon slayer.

"This isn't like you, Natsu." Erza stated as a matter of fact. "You are isolating yourself."

"No, I'm not." Natsu argued while continuing with his routine.

"You don't have to lie to me, Natsu," Erza claimed and moved into Natsu's space, forcing him to look at her. "You haven't even made an attempt to talk to Lucy since she got back. It's not like you."

Natsu stopped, his fists clenched and at his sides. He took in a deep breath and ran his hands through his pink hair before sitting down Indian style with his legs crossed. Erza sat down in front of the fire dragon slayer in the same fashion and waited for the boy to speak.

"I don't want to see it again." He said just loud enough for Erza to hear.

"See what again?" Erza questioned with a concerned look on her face.

"Lucy. I don't want to see her dead again." He took his gaze off Erza, opting to look at the stone rubble to his right. "In Crocus, after the games, the Lucy from the future, she died. I had nightmares. I saw it happen over, and over, and over. It always ended the same. There was nothing that I could do to save her. It was like the nightmares with Lisanna all over again."

"And with Igneel." Erza added. She remembered how disturbed Natsu had been after Lisanna had disappeared. She remembered Happy coming to the guild and telling everyone that he would say things about her in his sleep. The same thing happened when Erza had first met Natsu, except that he would have terrible night terrors, calling out for his dragon father.

"I know that that is my biggest fear. One day I won't be strong enough, or I will be too careless, something will happen and I'll lose her because of it. I don't want to see it. It's already happened once, why do I need to see it again?" Natsu said with a sigh. Erza knew how much the dragon slayer cared for his nakama, but this wasn't about being in the same guild. Erza suspected that his feelings for the celestial mage were deeper than he knew, or was willing to admit.

"Have you thought about talking to Lucy about this?" Erza questioned. Natsu nodded before opening his mouth to respond.

"I just don't want to worry her. She cares so much about everyone… She already worries too much." The dragon slayer's eyes went across the room to find Lucy. It was still odd to see her as a child. Natsu supposed that it was because he didn't know her as a child like he knew Erza, Gray, and Levy. She wasn't all that different from her adult self. Her hair still rested in the same pony tail with her blonde bangs. She still had those large brown eyes. Although she didn't have the voluptuous body portions that her adult body had, she still moved the same way and she still talked the same way. Lucy eyes wandered and met with Natsu's eyes. She gave him a sweet smile before looking back at Gray to continue their conversation. Erza followed his gaze and smirked.

"She worries because she cares for you, and don't think that because you haven't told her this that she doesn't sense that there is something wrong with you." Erza comment brought Natsu's eyes back to the requip mage in front of him. "In fact, my guess is that it only worries her more."

"I don't know what to say." Natsu said and brought his hands to his face. "Ever since Fairy Tail has come back together, things just haven't been like they were before."

"What do you mean?" Erza asked with a confused look.

"We used to do everything together. Being friends was easy. I never had to think when I was around her, but now…" Natsu took a deep breath before trying to continue. He wasn't a person of many words. When it came to talking about feelings, he was even worse. "I don't know what it is, but it's like… there is something there, it wasn't there before I left to train."

Erza nodded in understanding. She saw how hard it was for the dragon slayer to try to explain how he felt about these things. _You idiotic dragon slayer…_ The thought amused the young scarlet haired mage. "I think that before you go down that hall to face your fear, you should talk to Lucy. Be honest with her about this. It could be that she has changed in the year that you were apart."

"Yeah, okay." Natsu said with a nod. He didn't sound very confident about the whole situation.

"When Gajeel and Levy come back, I plan on going next. With any luck, we will hear back from the guild with an update." Erza said and stood up. "While I am gone, talk to Lucy." She said it as a command, not a suggestion. Then she walked over to the child-like Jellal, and left Natsu to try and sort out his thoughts. Natsu simply sighed and stood up, going back to work-out.

* * *

The young iron dragon slayer just stood there, wide-eyed and mouth slightly ajar. He could have sworn that this was just a memory, Shrimp's memory or maybe her nightmare. But when the Gajeel from the illusion turned and started talking to him, he was dumb-struck.

"Gajeel…" The young Levy whispered and tried to pull his attention away from the taunting image in front of him.

"Did ya hear that kid?" The adult dragon slayer mocked. "The runt was talkin' to ya."

"Gajeel, you can't let him get to you. You have to face whatever it is you're afraid of." Levy said in a calm voice. She wasn't looking at her child-like companion, but instead at the brute in front of them. She had no fear in her eyes, but that didn't seem to change the look in the adult Gajeel's eyes. If she thought on that night that he was big, it was nothing compared to their difference in height now. Levy wondered if she even stood at his waist.

"Huh, face it. You don't even want to acknowledge it. Even if ya wanted to, ya can never beat me." The older man continued to taunt. The smirk on his face oozed confidence and the look in his eyes sent shivers down the two young mage's spines. "You're too weak kid."

Finally it seemed like Gajeel was shaken from his stupor. He gave a deep growl and lunged towards the image of himself. "I ain't weak." He cried and raised his fist in an attempt to prove the illusion wrong. Just before connecting the punch, the adult Gajeel disappeared only to reappear about eight feet to the right.

"Sure, ya ain't. Just like you ain't afraid of nuthin'." The adult laughed and continued his taunt.

"Gajeel, stop it!" Levy yelled trying desperately to get the young dragon slayer's attention.

"Stop it Gajeel," The illusion mimicked in the squeakiest voice he could summon. "Pathetic."

The young dragon slayer growled again and lunged for his adult counterpart. Once again, the man disappeared and reappeared a few feet out of reach. The adult Gajeel just cackled.

"Gajeel you can't fight this. This isn't something you can win with physical strength." Levy shouted trying to convince her partner to come to his senses.

"You should just give up on him, short-stack." The full grown iron dragon slayer taunted. "He's weak."

"Shut it!" The young dragon slayer took another shot at the illusion, who just shifted out of the way. He took another lunging step forward making the illusion step back.

"Ya can't beat me kid." Another taunt and another step back.

"Ya won't defeat me," the illusion sneered and the child Gajeel continued punching.

"I'm stronger than you will ever be." Another taunt.

"There's no point punk," and another swing.

"You can't get away from me," and another dodge.

"You need me," The illusion smirked as the youngster pulled back his fist to punch. Just as young Gajeel was about to make a hit the adult Gajeel disappeared again, but the young iron dragon slayer's fist hit something. The youngster's eyes widened when his eyes locked on to the recipient of his assault.

The child-like Levy had taken the hit from Gajeel's fist. It was a hard enough punch that it knocked her to the ground. Levy looked up, a hand on her cheek from the hit. She had the hint of tears in her eyes. As she removed her hand from her face, the young dragon slayer could see a cut across her cheek. His eyes looked down at his fist to see the metal studs on his gloves.

"Gihihihi," The laugh came from the dark haired man, who reappeared next to the young Gajeel. "You ain't changed, you're just gonna do what ya always do. Ya just keep hurtin' her."

"No…" The young iron dragon slayer said, closing his eyes. "Shrimp… I…"

Then a resounding smack echoed around in the night. The shock of the hit against his cheek made him open his eyes. He looked up to see Levy, standing in front of him, her hand still raised from her slap to his face.

"Gajeel you stupid, idiotic, dummy!" The petite bluenette yelled. The young dragon slayer stood stunned while he older counterpart smirked and crossed his arms across his chest.

"Shrimp?" The young dragon slayer spoke again trying to figure out how this had happened.

"I tried to tell you that you couldn't do things this way. This isn't a fight that you can use your fists with. There isn't anything to beat up, but no, you don't want to listen to me. Do you dragon slayers do just about anything for a fight or are you incapable of anything else?" Levy was now pacing back and forth right in front of the young Gajeel. Before he could attempt to say anything, the young girl continued her rant.

"What part of 'facing your fears' did you not understand? You can't hit your fears, Gajeel. You can't force them into submission. You can't deny your fears." Levy halted her pacing to stop in front of the young Gajeel. She placed her hands on his shoulders and started to shake him. "Your fears aren't physical, you big dummy."

Feeling shocked, defeated, and lost by the situation Gajeel fell to his knees. "I don't know what else to do Shrimp," the boy admitted. His gaze fell to the floor. He felt weak and hopeless. He felt alone.

"How about you let me help you, instead of running off on your own?" Levy sighed and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Shrimp… will you help me?" The iron dragon slayer said in almost a whisper. Levy looked down at him and took a deep breath. She sat down in the grass in front of her child-like friend and grabbed his hands.

"If I didn't want to help, I wouldn't have come after you." Levy's words made the young dragon slayer lift his gaze to meet Levy's eyes. "But no more hiding from this, you have to be honest with yourself."

"Heh, I gotta see this," The adult Gajeel smirk and began circling the two young mages in the same way a bird of prey would circle its target. Levy huffed and sent a glare in the direction of the full grown Gajeel. It only made him chuckle more. Levy returned her hazel eyes to the young Gajeel in front of him.

"Do you know what it is you are afraid of?" Levy asked.

"I don't know." The young Gajeel responded looking away from Levy.

"Think about what we have seen so far." Levy said. She was trying to guide him to what he was afraid of. "Something about this scares you Gajeel… You know what it is; you just have to accept it."

The child-like Gajeel looked around. This was a place he had come to know well. He remembered this night well. He didn't want to remember it, but he did. He couldn't handle the looks on Levy's face just before he pinned her to a tree. Just remembering how she looked that night made his face take on a look of disgust.

"I don't like seein' you hurt," he admitted to the young script mage. The adult Gajeel laughed and continued to circle the two. Levy ignored the man and spoke up trying to keep her partner's attention.

"That's a good start." Levy said with an encouraging smile. "What else? What is it about this place that makes you afraid?"

The young iron dragon slayer looked around again. He saw Team Shadow Gear hung up on the tree. _No, that's not it._ He continued to look around. His eyes came to the young Levy in front of him. Her eyes were calm and curious. He could see a thin line of blood coming from the cut on her cheek. He frowned and lifted his hand to try to wipe it away.

"That!" Levy squealed.

"What?" Gajeel questioned.

"You just had a look on your face, what were you thinking just now?" Levy questioned.

"I was thinkin' that I hate that I did that to ya," Gajeel started, he hung his head and closed his eyes. He could hear each step of the dragon slayer circling them. "I hate that I hurt ya. I never wanted to hurt ya like I did that night."

"But Gajeel, what happened just now was an accident. That night, you were just following orders. I don't blame you for any of that." Levy said looking confused. "You are a different from that person who hung me from a tree."

"Gihihi," the older male laughed as he continued to pace. The young Gajeel shut his eyes tighter trying to ignore the taunting chuckle.

 _Why can't he just get the hell away from me? I need to focus on Shrimp and figurin' this shit out; I can't be wastin' my time on his ass._ Gajeel let out a groan.

"Gajeel, what is it?" Levy said as if she could read the thoughts as they crossed his mind.

"I hate him." Gajeel responded. He let go of Levy's hands and ran them through his hair. He stopped and gripped the shortened spikes.

"Who?" Levy continued. She knew he was getting close to it.

"Me." Gajeel pulled at his hair and released a shuddering breath. "I hate how cold I was, how stupid I was, how cruel I was. I hate that I liked it." Gajeel released his hold on his hair and gripped at the grass at his sides.

"I pinned you and yer friends to a tree and didn't lose a wink of sleep. I beat on bunny girl and felt nuthin'. I was a monster." _I am a monster._ The young Gajeel ripped the grass from the roots and threw them off to the side. Despite the angry outburst, Levy remained calm and let him work through his thoughts. "I don't want to ever be that man, Shrimp. I'd do anythin' to just forget that part of my life."

"I think I know what you are afraid of." Levy said and shifted to kneel in front of the young dragon slayer. Gajeel became very still, not wanting to look at Levy. Levy cupped Gajeel's face in both of her small hands, forcing Gajeel to look at her. "You are afraid of the person you were, Gajeel. You are afraid that you could be that person again."

The truth hit the dragon slayer, and it hit him hard. Before either mage knew it, tears had formed in his eyes. The truth hurt worse than any physical pain. In fact, Gajeel thought that he's rather take a sword through the heart right now.

"It's okay, Gajeel." Levy tried to comfort the boy in front of her. "You won't be that man again."

"You don't know that, Shrimp." Gajeel whispered. Tears were falling down his cheeks. "I could be him already. I was him. He was me. Hell he is me. How do ya know I ain't him already?"

"Simple." Levy said. "You don't just act anymore, you feel with your heart. You aren't unfeeling or cruel and this," Levy said and wiped a tear from his face. "You cry. You feel guilt. You feel remorse. You have people that you care about. You have Fairy Tail, you have Pantherlily. You have a family, you aren't alone anymore, Gajeel and we won't let you be that person anymore. I won't let you be that person anymore. _I_ won't let you be that person again."

"Promise, Shrimp?"

"I promise." Levy said with a small smile. The boy looked at her for a moment. Then Gajeel pulled the young script mage into a tight hug. "Thanks Levy." He whispered. Levy couldn't help but notice that he used her real name instead of the usual nicknames. A slight blush appeared on her cheeks, but she returned the hug willingly. Gajeel closed his eyes as he embraced the small girl. He didn't want to let go. Levy was his anchor. In a way, she always had been. Gajeel didn't let up until Levy said something.

"Gajeel, look." She whispered to him. He released her from his embrace and looked around. Levy smiled. "He's gone."

Sure enough, the taunting brooding image of Gajeel was nowhere to be seen. Also missing from the park were the members of team Shadow Gear. All that remained were marks on the tree where the three once hung. The park was quiet and almost felt peaceful.

"What's that mean?" Gajeel questioned, taking in the calm of the scene. He noticed that the pain in his chest had also subsided.

"You faced your fear, Gajeel." Levy said and stood up. The small girl took Gajeel's hand as he got to his feet as well. "Do you still feel afraid?"

"Yeah," He replied and, for the first time since they arrived in this plane of existence, Gajeel actually admitted being afraid. "But there's somthin' different now. I don't feel like I gotta prove anythin' now." He whispered and squeezed Levy's hand. Levy looked at him and smiled.

"Let's get back to the others." Levy said. Gajeel gave a nod as they headed back into the quiet city of Magnolia. The followed their previous path back to the ally they had come from. As they crossed the threshold back into the stone hallway, both mages noticed a shadow that pulsed from behind them. When Levy turned to look behind them, the city was gone and all that remained was the appearance of an endless and empty stone hall.


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey guys. I have the new chapter here for you.**

 **I have a couple things I'd like to mention, but I'll leave that until the end of the chapter.**

 **I still don't own Fairy Tail. (sigh)**

* * *

 _"_ _Fear is not real. It is a product of thoughts you create. Do not misunderstand me. Danger is very real. But fear is a choice."_ ― _Will Smith_

Gray was sure that when Juvia and Lucy had returned that Juvia would want to discuss her dream with him. It would be normal for her to cling to him and tell him these things, so it was a surprise when Juvia didn't even attempt to talk with him. In fact, she wasn't paying attention to him at all. It wasn't until she met his eyes that Gray realized that he was staring. Even then, she didn't come to talk with him. She gave him the sweetest smile and then turned away from him with the deep blush still on her cheeks. The whole thing left Gray feeling embarrassed.

"Wow Gray, I don't think I have ever seen you blush like that." Lucy's child-like voice came from behind him. She had a knowing smirk on her face and stood almost nervously with her hands in the back pockets on her shorts. She was shifting back and forth from her heels to her toes.

"I didn't think that you would be the one to come and talk to me when you came back," Gray said being completely honest with the blonde.

"Well, I think Juvia needs some time on her own after that…" Lucy commented. She turned around and walked over to a stone ruin. She sat down on the edge, her feet hung just barely above the floor. "But if you want someone to talk to…" She said and patted a spot next to her for Gray to sit.

Gray ran a hand through his hair and let out a sigh before hopping up to take a seat next to the blonde. Gray realized that this was a great place to sit. He could see Jellal, who was walking around the room seemingly taking a sudden interest in the walls of the room. He could see Juvia, who was looking down while walking on a line made from the stones on the floor. On the opposite side, he could see Erza walking towards Natsu who was doing some kind of work-out.

"What are you thinking about?" Lucy asked, kicking her feet and letting them swing.

"Well, I guess I feel guilty…" Gray whispered.

"What do you have to feel guilty about?" Lucy asked, turning her head to look at the dark haired boy next to her.

"I just assumed that whatever Juvia was afraid of had to do with me. I mean…" Gray paused, struggling with how to bring up what had happened to between him and Juvia. "We had lived together for about six months and then I left without a word… and the way that she is, I guess I assumed that her nightmare had something to do with me." Gray felt bad. He remembered hearing about the state Juvia was in when Lucy and Natsu found her before tracking him down.

"You know, I thought so too." Lucy said, and gave her companion another smile. "But I was surprised to find out that it had nothing to do with you. I mean, you were there in her dream, but it had nothing to do with her being afraid."

Gray wasn't sure how he felt about this. On the one hand he was happy that he wasn't the source of any more pain for the water mage. On the other hand he was… disappointed? The way that Juvia treated him and talked about him made it seem like he was the center of her world. It felt good to know that someone held him in such high regard, that someone cared about him that much. To know that maybe that had changed, it left a very sour taste in his stomach.

"It's probably not my place to tell you what happened in her dream, but I get the feeling that she would like to tell you about it someday." Lucy said after watching Gray's reaction. It was clear that this whole ordeal was weighing heavily on him. "I think that you and Juvia have more in common than you realize."

"Huh, what makes you think that?" Gray huffed, almost amused at the thought.

"Well," Lucy started looking across the room at the child Juvia as she walked along her imaginary line. "You see, you are always so closed off from everyone. I know it's because of your family and Ur and Ultear… You try not to become attached to anyone because you feel like they will just disappear." Gray listened to Lucy's description of him. She was right. He was reminded of what Natsu had said to him before he ran off down the hallway. He hated that that's how he dealt with life, but it was the only emotional protection that he had.

"Juvia is the same way," Lucy continued and Gray gave her a confused look. "You see, instead of hiding her feelings away from everyone, she just covers them up with other things like making you cookies, or checking in with Gajeel, or gathering your clothes when you start stripping. Yeah, it makes her seem like she's a little obsessed and overboard with everything she does… but deep down she is hiding more complex feelings than infatuation for you."

At this Gray followed Lucy's gaze to look at Juvia. He had never thought of it that way. He had never even considered that there was any more depth to her than what she showed. It was like suddenly everything that Juvia ever did for him wasn't that strange at all. Juvia turned at that moment and caught Gray's gaze. She blushed again and gave him a small smile before continuing her pattern of walking.

"Thanks, Lucy." Gray said and turned to look back at the small blonde girl next to him.

"It was nothing." Lucy replied. She allowed her gaze to wander before they landed on Natsu. She gave him a sweet smile before Gray's words brought her attention back to their conversation.

"So what's been going on with you and Natsu?" Gray said with a smirk.

"Nothing's going on," Lucy said feeling slightly flustered at the question. "What makes you think that something is going on?"

"Because Natsu's even more insufferable when the two of you aren't getting along." Gray laughed.

"Oh, well, umm…" Lucy fumbled her words. She didn't think that avoiding Natsu would really draw any attention to the situation. She was also not really willing to admit the reason behind the awkwardness between her and the dragon slayer. Lucy kept looking around to find something to save her from having this conversation, but she couldn't find anything. "Well… the thing is—"

"Hey guys, we're back." Levy said in a cheery voice. _Oh thank Mavis,_ Lucy thought as she jumped up to go greet her friend, though mostly to get away from Gray's questions. Lucy stopped suddenly when she got a closer look at Levy.

"Levy?" Lucy questioned and put her small fingers up to the cut on Levy's cheek. "What happened?"

"Oh, it's nothing Lu-chan," Levy said with a smile, grabbing on to Lucy's hand to hold it. Lucy was not reassured by the action. Lucy didn't feel any better when she looked at Gajeel only to see that he would not look her in the eyes.

"Hey, is everyone okay?" Warren's voice echoed overhead.

"Everything is okay here," called Erza.

"Levy, are you okay?" Mira asked, causing Gajeel to let out a shaking breath that did not go unnoticed by Lucy.

"I'm okay, Mira." Levy responded.

"See, I told you she was good, don't get your panties in a twist." The voice of Cana could be heard around the room.

"Why do you ask?" Lucy questioned before anyone else could respond.

"Well, Cana was watching over you guys, but apparently she got distracted when she ran out of alcohol." Mira started her explanation.

"I was gone for like five minutes!" Cana argued. "It's not like they do anything other than sleep anyway."

"When I came back this morning to see how things were going, Cana was gone and Gajeel's skin started turning into his iron scales. When I walked over to him I saw Levy, she was bleeding from a cut on her face." Mira recalled.

Levy looked at Gajeel who was looking at the ground. Levy could feel the shame pouring off of the boy. She stepped towards Gajeel and took his hand. "I'm fine Mira. There was an accident while in Gajeel's dream world, it's just a small cut, nothing to worry about." As she spoke, she moved closer to Gajeel so that she could meet his eyes. She wanted him to understand that she didn't blame him. Gajeel lifted his head slightly before pulling Levy into a hug.

Gray looked at Levy's face and his own hand found it's was to his cheek. It was a reminder of the sting he had felt during his brief visit to his own dream. "It's as if these aren't dreams at all. It's as if these are our real bodies… as if everything here is real."

"Juvia thinks that this may be part of the spell." Juvia said as she twisted nervously in place making the skirt of her dress swish back and forth. "Besides, even if fears cannot be touched, Juvia thinks that they are still very real."

At Gray and Juvia's words, Gajeel closed his eyes tightened his grip on the tiny girl in his arms. Lucy smirked as she viewed the two in front of her. She would corner Levy once they were done with this whole ordeal and make her spill what happened between them. As Gajeel pulled Levy into a tighter hug, Lucy noticed something different on his arm.

"Gajeel!" Lucy nearly screamed causing Gajeel and Levy to jolt in surprise and each of them took a step away from each other.

"Your guild mark! It's back to normal!" Lucy squealed.

"What?" Levy said and grabbed Gajeel's arm for closer examination. Lucy had joined Levy at her side to get a better look at his arm. Their inspection was interrupted by Erza who had grabbed the young iron dragon slayer by his arm to investigate the change to his guild mark herself. To her side appeared Natsu, who lifted a finger to touch the Fairy Tail emblem that was now completely filled in with its normal black ink.

"Would ya knock it off!" Gajeel yelled as he shoved Natsu and Erza off his arm. Warren could be heard muttering " _Oww"_ in the background in response to the yell from Gajeel. "I ain't some doll ya can play with." Gajeel huffed, crossing his arms and moving away from his curious companions.

"Is it because he faced his nightmare?" Levy asked.

"If that's the case then Juvia's mark should also have returned to normal." Jellal reasoned. All eyes then turned to Juvia with questioning looks. Juvia's cheeks turned bright red. She turned away from the group so that when she lifted the skirt of her dress she would maintain a little privacy. Levy and Lucy had moved over to the young water mage to check out her guild mark.

"Juvia's mark is also back to normal." The water mage sighed and quickly dropped the skirt of her dress and began to fix her clothes so that they were properly in place.

"How odd…" Levy mumbled to herself.

"Mira, have you learned anything new?" Erza called out to the ceiling.

"No, I'm afraid not. We made contact with Freed though; he is still about a day's travel away. He told us not to let anyone near the library in case more people end up in the same situation." Mira explained. "In the meantime, Wendy suggested that we have someone stay close by in case something happens while you are asleep."

"Wait, how long has it been since we've been here?" Levy asked.

"It has been about a day since we last spoke." Mire replied.

"It doesn't feel like that much time has passed for us here. It feels like only a few hours have gone by." Erza thought out loud.

"It does make sense." Lucy mumbled. "I mean, when we normally sleep it doesn't feel like much time has passed at all."

"Hold on." Natsu gasped as if he suddenly realized something. "Where is Happy? Is he okay?"

"Happy is fine, Natsu." Mira giggled at the concern in his voice. "We have plenty of fish in stock for him so he won't go hungry. He's worried about you, but I've been trying to keep him busy during the day. Pantherlily offered to stay with him until you wake up and I believe that both of them went home with Wendy and Carla for the night."

"Okay, good." Natsu replied back. His seemed confident, but everyone there with him could hear the relief in his voice and see the concern that stayed on his face. Lucy wanted to go to comfort him, but she hesitated when she saw Gajeel place a reassuring hand on the pinkette's shoulder. Silence permeated through the room for a long moment before Erza spoke up again.

"I think that's all we have at the moment. Please keep us informed if any progress is made."

"Not to worry, I'll let you know if we find anything out." Mira called in her sweet reassuring voice.

"Later guys." Warren said and cut off the telepathic link.

"So, now what?" Lucy asked just to break the silence that felt as though it was closing in on the group.

"We keep going." Erza commanded.

"We should be careful in proceeding," Jellal said. "Clearly if any harm comes to us here, it also occurs to us in the real world."

"I want to go next." Gray said with a look of resolve settling over his face.

"Are you sure?" Levy asked with concern in her voice.

"Yes," Gray said as he nodded his head. "I was caught off guard the first time. I won't make the same mistake twice."

Erza took a long look at Gray as if evaluating his sanity. Gray didn't waver and looked directly into her eyes. "I had planned on going next if you need mo—"

"Trust me. I got this Erza." Gray said confidently. After a pause, Erza released a sigh and nodded.

"Okay, who is going with you?" She asked. Gray simply nodded with a smirk, one that Jellal returned as he stepped forward. Erza gave the two boys a questioning look. Jellal walked up to her and took her hand.

"Don't worry, Erza." He said as he gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. "I'll keep him safe." Erza nodded and wished them luck. As soon as the two boys disappeared down the hall, her eyes brows wrinkled with a look of concern.

* * *

 **I know that you guys were super excited for Erza's chapter, but you'll have to keep waiting. Sorry to disappoint you (well, mostly).**

 **Next I would like to send out a big thank you to Sblackw, who pointed out to me that my page breaks were not showing up properly. I did go back and add in all the page breaks that should have been there from the beginning, so if anyone was confused before about the changes in perspective, I encourage you to go back and look at the changes.**

 **I am disappointed that I ever posted anything without page breaks that were needed. If you guys see something like that, please, please, please tell me.**

 **Now I would like to mention that I have seen some concerns about the behavior of some of the characters. Understand that all of the characters are under a large amount of stress and many of them unable to relieve their stress in a way they are used to. As a result, many of the characters' reactions may be out of what would seem normal.**

 **You can expect that this will affect two characters in particular. The first is Natsu. Natsu is a very physically based person. He does great with physical problems: if you need something, he can go get it; if there is a bad guy, he can go beat them up; if you are being held on trial for mass amounts of destruction, he can impersonate you and crash the hearing; if you are missing out on a special festival, he will dig up a tree and float it down the canal for you to see. For things that don't have a physical solution, he has a difficult time.**

 **The second, in my opinion, is Levy. Levy is usually pretty level headed, but when things get to be really strenuous, she gets anxious and then she panics. Usually, Levy has people who take on that stress in one way or another to relieve this stress (Jet and Droy are totally enablers). This is something that will be explored later on.**

 **For those of you that have stayed after my rant, thanks for reading! Thanks for all the new followers. Please let me know what you think by leaving a review.**


	10. Chapter 10

**So I have good news and bad news. The good news is the new chapter is here. I will address the bad news at the end.**

* * *

 _"_ _Fear echoes your self-defined limitations, not your actual ones. To change your self-image, you must face what scares you."_

 _―_ _Vironika Tugaleva_

"How long do we walk until the illusions start?" The Jellal asked Gray as the boys walked side by side.

"I'm not really sure." Gray said. "The first time I came down here, I wasn't really paying attention."

"I can understand why." Jellal smirked. "If it makes you feel any better, I am sure that Natsu didn't mean what he said."

"With all of the things that get said between the two of us, I shouldn't have taken it personally. He just…" Gray paused, looking for the right words to describe his feelings.

"Natsu brought out all the insecurities that I already had about my life."

"It's interesting how our friends can do that." Jellal commented.

"Ha. Look, me and Natsu, we aren't friends." Gray said seriously.

"I don't know about that." Jellal said and looked at the boy next to him. "You guys work together well, you have known each other for a long time; you are both willing to do anything for your guild."

"We fight all the fucking time. He is so annoying, he is so stupid. Do you know how many times he has gotten me in trouble with Erza?" Gray spat in frustration.

"And how many times have you saved him from doing something stupid?" Jellal asked.

"Way too many times." Gray replied dryly.

"And how many times has he stopped you from doing something stupid?" Jellal asked with a raised brow.

Gray stopped walking, which caused Jellal to turn and look at him.

"You're right Gray, you aren't friends. You sound more like brothers to me." Jellal commented with a smirk.

Gray had to really think on what Jellal said. _Did Jellal really think that he and Natsu were like brothers? Was there anything more than rivalry between the two?_

"Maybe…" Gray admitted and began walking again. Jellal continued slightly behind him.

"It must be nice to have someone to look out for you like that," Jellal stated as the two boys walked. Just as Gray was about to say something, a dark blue light reverberated through the hallway.

"What was that?" Gray asked. Jellal shrugged his shoulders. "I'm thinking it was the light that Lucy described from her adventure with Juvia."

Gray was suddenly on edge, but he continued walking ahead with a determined look in his eyes. Jellal followed suit and it wasn't long until things on the hall began to change. The end of the hallway was no longer dark, but almost a blinding white color. As the two boys continued to walk, Jellal noticed that there were piles of snow on the floor along walls.

"How odd…" Jellal muttered to himself. He had walked over to where the snow had piled up and touched the pile of fresh powder. _It feels like snow but it's not cold…_ He thought, but Gray didn't seem to care about the lack of cold feeling. Gray just continued to walk until he found himself outside. The wind was blowing and snow fell around what appeared to be a mountain. Gray had little reaction to the change in environment, but Jellal appeared to be shocked when he finally caught up to the ice mage.

"Where are we?" Jellal yelled in an attempt to be heard over the sound of the snow storm. However, he was stumped to hear that his voice projected just fine.

"Where it all started…" Gray said not taking his stare off of the bottom of the mountain.

"Back for more?" A woman's voice called with amusement. Jellal looked around for the woman who had spoken to find no one. Gray on the other hand seemed to not hear the voice or was trying his best to ignore it.

"Come now, Gray," The voice of another woman floated towards the two boys. Jellal recognized this voice as belonging to Ultear. His suspicions were proven correct when the wind picked up a flurry of snow only for it to take the form of the woman familiar to both boys.

"It's rude to ignore people." Ultear continued in an amused sing-song voice, her long cloak flowing freely in the wind and her arms folded and placed over her chest.

Jellal stepped forward to stand next to Gray, trying to see what Gray was looking at.

"This new strategy of yours isn't going to work well." The first woman's voice called out as another gust of wind blew by forming the figure of Gray's first teacher.

"What are we doing Gray?" Jellal asked as he watched the two women come in closer to Gray and himself.

"I need to go down there. There is something that I have to do." Gray said confidently.

"So why are we still up here then," Jellal questioned.

"… because I think that these two," Gray motioned to the women that had formed from the snow. "They are just the beginning. It will get worse once we are down there."

"Oh, is little baby Gray all scared?" Ultear cooed teasingly which caused both her and Ur to laugh.

"Standing here does nothing. If you want to be rid of this, then we need to follow this illusion all the way through." Jellal said and placed his hand on Gray's shoulder. "You aren't alone in this, so don't feel like this is something you have to do alone."

Gray nodded and began his trek down the mountain with Jellal only half a step behind.

"Don't let him fool you, Gray." Ur called as the boys set off. The two women followed right behind them.

"Jellal isn't here for you. He's just doing this so that he can get out of here quicker." Ultear sneered. "You really are all alone in this."

Jellal watched Gray's expression, trying to see if he was even listening to the taunting from the two women. He noticed that Gray's brow had furrowed and his hands had turned to fists.

"Let's go." Gray mumbled and started running down the mountain. Jellal could hear the spiteful laughter follow them as he broke into a run after Gray. When they reached the bottom of the mountain, Jellal expected that Gray would stop, but the boy kept running. The two ran through what Jellal could only describe as the ruins of a village. The buildings were in various states of destruction. Jellal could clearly see the outlines of fences and town blocks marked with street posts that were broken and toppled over, some of them even snapped in half. Gray continued to run until the two boys had completely cleared the town entirely. Gray finally slowed down to a stop outside of the town. Jellal took a quick look behind him to see if the women had kept up with them. He didn't see either of the two women.

In front of the two boys was a black iron fence, or what remained of it. The fence was upright in some places and completely missing in others. The two gated doors served as the entrance, but one of the gates was holding on by a single hinge and had been pushed inward, while the other has several poles missing leaving a space large enough for anyone who wanted to walk through it. Inside of the iron fence enclosure were wooden sign posts. On each of the posts were written names. Jellal finally understood, they were heading towards a graveyard.

"If you thought that running would help you escape us, you are sorely mistaken." Ur taunted as she and Ultear appeared with another gust of snow.

* * *

Gajeel didn't want to let go of the tiny script mage when they reached the others again. It was an odd feeling for Gajeel. He never thought that he could get so much comfort from a hug from someone so small. He missed the contact immediately when he let her go to shoo away all the other mages inspecting his renewed guild mark. If it were up to him, he would have scooped up the tiny girl again just to cuddle up with her again. He would never admit it to anyone, but he felt incredibly peaceful when he was cuddling. However, once the ice stripper and pseudo-Mystogan walked down the hallway, Blondie had snatched up the Shrimp to talk. Even more annoying was the fact that he was reminded that he didn't have his exceed partner there to talk to either.

Gajeel let out a disgruntled sigh as he watched Lucy and Levy sitting together talking. He wanted so badly to know what it was that they were talking about, but his dragon hearing wasn't working here. He didn't think that he would miss his enhanced senses so much, but he did and it was frustrating. Especially since he could usually smell anyone before they approached him. That being said, Juvia was never one to try to sneak up on the iron dragon slayer.

"What do ya want, Rain Woman?" Gajeel muttered when Juvia walked up to him.

"Juvia wanted to know if Gajeel-kun would like to talk." The girl said with a small smile. "Gajeel-kun seems to need a distraction from his thoughts."

Gajeel smirked at Juvia's observations. Despite the time that they spent apart at Fairy Tail, they would always be good friends, and Juvia knew more about him than he was willing to admit. Gajeel nodded and took a seat before patting the ground to invite Juvia to sit next to him. He waited for Juvia to find a comfortable spot and to arrange the skirt of her dress so she was properly covered before he began the conversation.

"How are you holding up, Juvia?" Gajeel asked quietly. It was odd for Gajeel to address anyone by their name, but it was how Juvia knew that his guard was down.

"Juvia is still anxious about this place, but Juvia feels better now that she has finished her dream task. How is Gajeel-kun doing?" Juvia asked.

"I'm a fuckin' wreck." Gajeel admitted.

"Is Gajeel-kun still upset about his dream?" Juvia questioned with a worried look on her face.

"Yeah…" Gajeel mumbled as he began to fiddle with the gloves on his hands. Juvia just nodded and waited for Gajeel to say something back.

"How do ya handle this shit, Juvia?" Gajeel growled.

"Umm… Gajeel-kun will need to be more specific." Juvia mumbled with a concerned look to her friend.

"All the shit we did from Phantom Lord, doesn't it bug ya still?" Gajeel responded.

"Juvia does think about those things sometimes." Juvia said and then began to fiddle with the ends of her dress. "Juvia believes that people do things that they would not normally do when they hurt. Juvia thinks that pain changes people and that people will do anything if they think it will take away the pain."

"What are ya tryin' to say?" Gajeel grumbled and turned to look at the girl sitting next to him.

"Juvia thinks that maybe she was in pain when she met Master Jose. Juvia believes because she was in pain that Master Jose took advantage of Juvia's pain and had her do things Juvia would not have done. Maybe Gajeel-kun was also in pain when he found Phantom Lord." The water mage explained as best she could.

"Juvia, that ain't an excuse for the things we did." Gajeel said quietly.

"Maybe not…" Juvia admitted quietly. "Since finding Fairy Tail, Juvia thinks something inside Juvia has changed. Juvia believes that she would not do the things she did before. Juvia believes that Fairy Tail has changed Juvia."

Gajeel sat quietly letting Juvia's words sink in. _I don't feel different. Does that mean I haven't changed? Did Fairy Tail change him?_

"Juvia has complete faith in Gajeel-kun." Juvia said and scooted closer to the iron dragon slayer.

"What do ya mean?" Gajeel questioned.

"Gajeel-kun has done everything he can to protect his new family. Gajeel-kun never protected Phantom Lord the way Gajeel-kun protects Fairy Tail. " Juvia said and leaned over to rest her head on Gajeel's shoulder. "And Gajeel-kun never wanted to talk to anyone before. Gajeel-kun never wanted to belong before."

Gajeel lifted a brow at the water mage. She had a point. Something in him wanted to belong with Fairy Tail, something he never would have admitted to before.

"Do ya always know just what to say, woman?" Gajeel asked with a smirk.

"Juvia just says what she thinks." The girl replied. A pleasant silence passed between the two before Juvia spoke-up again. "Does Gajeel-kun think that Gray-sama is alright?"

"Gihihi, tell ya what, if he ain't alright, I'll kick his ass and make him alright." Gajeel chuckled and wrapped an arm around Juvia.

"Juvia hopes that that will not be necessary…"

* * *

"I'm not running away from you," Gray said as he began walking once again. He headed straight towards the broken iron gate and climbed through it with ease. Jellal followed Gray as he made his way towards the middle of the graveyard.

"There's no point in running," Gray whispered and stopped to kneel in front of a marked grave. It was a simple wooden post with a small, thin board tied to it. On one half of the post the name "SILVER" was scrawled in messy writing. On the other half was written the name "MIKA" in the same messy writing. Gray brushed the snow off of the top of the post before he closed his eyes and let his head drop as he whispered, "I can't run from this."

"Oh, but you want to." Ultear taunted as she approached Gray from behind and walking to his side. She lightly brushed the tips of his hair with her fingers causing Gray to flinch away from her touch. "You are still just a scared little boy, running away from all your problems."

"It's much more than that." Ur said as she approached the boy kneeling on the ground going to the side opposite of her daughter.

"I think it's the disappointment that gets to him the most." The air suddenly stilled with the addition of a new voice, a man's voice. The gusts of wind had stopped abruptly and although the snow still fell, each snow flake descended so slowly that you could hardly tell that the snow was falling at all. It was as if time had stopped out of respect for the new presence. Gray lifted his head up with tears in his eyes when he recognized the man's voice.

"I mean of all the people that I wanted to entrust responsibility to, I thought it would be my own son." Unlike where the two women, who had appeared from the swirling drifts of snow, the entrance of Gray's father was not gradual. Jellal had missed the man's entrance completely. Silver had simply appeared as if he had materialized out of thin air in the blink of an eye. He stood behind his own grave marking. His arms were crossed in front of the large polished breast plate. His features were similar to Gray's with dark eyes and black hair. The man's imposing appearance was only intensified by his knowing smirk and the thick scar that crossed over his eyes.

"I mean, all I wanted was for you to end my misery, and you couldn't even do that." Silver said with disappointment laced in his voice. "If I'm not mistaken, it was your girlfriend that had to do that for you. What was her name again?"

"Juvia…" Gray whispered looking up at his father as he sat on his heels.

"Hold on," Ultear interrupted malice and amusement mixed in her voice. "Juvia had to kill you." Silver only nodded as he glared down at his son.

"This is the same girl that he left without a word for six months, right?" Ur commented.

"The exact same one," Silver answered and then crouched down to be eye level with his child. "I really like that girl. She's a strong woman. I just wish that my son was man enough to be worthy of her."

Gray had tears falling silently down his face. Jellal could see them fall from his eyes and he couldn't blame Gray. Everything that these illusions said could bring the strongest man to his knees. Jellal took a step forward to try and comfort the dark haired boy.

"Gray…" Jellal said to try to distract him from the images in front of him.

"Shut up, Jellal." Gray snapped at Jellal in a harsh voice.

"There you go again, Gray." Ur said in exasperation. "Still pushing away people who just want to help you? Tsk. Tsk. Eventually they will all leave you and then you will die all alone." The woman said as she started lightly moving her hands through the tips of his hair, never once touching his scalp. Gray leaned forward so that he was on his hands and knees. His fingers clenched at handfuls of snow.

"Do you really think that this is the time to feel sorry for yourself?" Ultear cooed kicking at some of the snow to Gray's side. "I mean the only person that you have to blame for this is yourself. If only you were stronger…"

Gray took a shuddering breath. He closed his eyes and shook his head once before he spoke.

"I'm scared." Gray said with a steady voice.

"Oh, boo-hoo." Teased Ultear as Ur just laughed.

"I'm afraid that my actions will cause others to become hurt. That I would be responsible for other people's pain." As Gray spoke, he lifted his head up and leaned back to sit on his heels. "I am afraid that by opening myself up to others that I make myself vulnerable to the same heartache that I have had in the past. I am so afraid that there are people who depend on me to fulfill my responsibilities and that I will leave them disappointed. I am afraid that I don't have the strength to be able to do what is asked of me."

Gray pushed his child-like body up from his seated position. Ur, Ultear, and Silver all straightened up to stand as he did. Gray looked up and met Silver's eyes.

"I am afraid that when the time comes, I won't be strong enough to take on the demon END." Gray explained, his gaze never leaving his father's face. "I am afraid that when the time comes, I will fail and everything that everyone has sacrificed for me will be in vain."

Gray paused and began breathing deeply. Jellal could have sworn that time had stopped. The only indication that it had not was the visible veil of breath that formed when he and Gray exhaled. It was at the point that Jellal realized that he felt cold for the first time since coming to the snowy mountain.

"I am afraid." Gray continued. "But my fears… they aren't bad. My fear reminds me of everything that I have lost and everything that I could lose… My fears remind me who is important in my life… But more than that, my fears are what drive me to be a better mage, to be stronger and push my limits… They drive me to be a better man."

Gray was caught slightly off guard when he felt a hand grip his shoulder. He turned to face Ur, who placed her other hand on his shoulder. Ur's face broke into a smile.

"You don't have to be sad." As Ur spoke, her body began to slowly disintegrate into ice starting with her legs. As she began to disappear, the ice seemed to float away as if carried away by the wind except that when Gray reached out his hand, he couldn't feel a wind or the ice being carried away.

Gray could feel the tears building up in his eyes again. He shook his head trying to pull himself together when Ultear placed her hand on his cheek.

"Every person lives the time that has been given to them." Ultear whispered as she too began to break into ice to be swept away by the wind. She still had a smirk on her face.

"That is life…" Ultear whispered as she completely disappeared leaving an odd feeling on his cheek where her hand had been. Gray placed his own hand where Ultear's hand had been.

Gray turned around abruptly to face the image of his father. Silver's breastplate had disappeared and was replaced with a plain winter tunic. Silver nodded to Gray and crossed his arms across his chest.

"I leave the rest to you." Silver said and turned away from his son before he was picked up by the wind just like Ur and Ultear had. Once all three had gone, the snow began to fall and a normal pace again and Gray could once again feel a light breeze.

Jellal felt uncomfortable. It felt like he was intruding on something precious and personal. He wanted to leave, but didn't want to leave Gray alone either so he just stood there. It was like he was stunned and stuck to the spot in the ground. At the same time, he felt useless. He was supposed to be helping Gray, but Gray hadn't needed or wanted his help.

Gray wiped what remained of the tears from his face and took a deep breath. He reached out his hand to touch his parent's names on their grave marker. _Thank you, for everything._ Gray thought and turned to look at Jellal.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you. I just―"

"You don't have to explain." Jellal interrupted and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "You did what you needed to do."

"Do you think we have to hike to get back to the others?" Gray asked with a small laugh, which cause Jellal to crack a smile.

"Unless you see another odd and creepy stone hallway closer by." Jellal jested and the two boys turned to head back.

* * *

 **I need to address a couple of things.**

 **To the guest who said: "** **I'd love to see it accidentally be Jellal's nightmare though and have both boys thrown for a loop when Gray has to take the supportive role.** **" I totally thought about doing that, just not with Gray and Jellal. I chose instead to torment Jellal in a special way. You'll see what I mean in a few chapters.**

 **Next is a funny/creepy back and forth between me and my editor. This story reached 50 followers at some point this week. I told this to my editor/brother. He said, "You have developed a following." To which I replied: "You make it sound like I'm starting a cult." He then shrugged his shoulders and said, "Well you kind of are…"**

 **Anyway, on to the bad news: next week on Sunday I will be leaving to go on vacation. I will be gone for a week and since we are going on a cruise, I will likely be without my computer. My plan is to try and put the next chapter up right before we leave and then put the following chapter up right when we get back. This is assuming that I will remember and that I don't get overloaded with packing and I am not overly exhausted by vacation.**

 **Let me know what you guys thing. Feel free to leave a review, my editor and I really enjoy them.**

 **Thanks!**


	11. Chapter 11

_"_ _But the fact is, dreams catch us with our armor off."_

 _―_ _Victoria Schwab, The Unbound_

It had gotten cold, really, really cold. Lucy and Levy had scooted closer together to try to keep warm since neither was particularly dressed to deal with the cold. Erza had crouched down to try to try and cover her legs with what she could of her skirt and tucked her arms into the thin fabric of her tank top. Gajeel was rubbing Juvia's arms while she tried to pull up her socks as high as they would go. The only person who seemed unaffected by the cold was Natsu.

"H-h-how d-d-did it get s-s-s-so c-c-cold?" Lucy asked through chattering teeth.

"I th-th-think that it might be Gray's m-m-magic." Levy responded. Both girls could see their breath as they tried to talk. "He loses c-c-control w-w-w-when he's upset."

"How long w-w-w-will it b-b-be l-l-l-like this?" Lucy asked looking at Levy.

"I d-d-don't know, Lu." Levy said returning Lucy's gaze. When she, did Lucy gasped suddenly.

"What is it Lu-chan?" Levy asked suddenly very scared.

"The c-c-cut on your f-face." Lucy stuttered. Levy brought her hand up to touch where she had been cut to feel the skin starting to close. It was an odd sensation to say the least, but felt as if someone were lightly blowing on her skin.

"That's so weird." Levy commented and then was overcome with another odd sensation. She didn't feel warm automatically, but she did suddenly feel less cold. "Oh, that feels much better." Levy commented. Before Lucy could ask what felt better, she felt it too.

"Oh…" Lucy said as she interpreted this odd feeling. "What do you think caused it to change?"

"Maybe we were actually cold and someone started warming us up?" Levy suggested. She looked around the room to see Erza start to look more relaxed as well. "And, I would bet that Wendy came by to heal the cut on my face."

"This whole place is just too weird." Lucy said and shook her head.

"I know what you mean." Levy replied. "When we were in Gajeel's dream, it was like everything was real, and he reacted as if it was real. He was really scared, Lu-chan."

"Why would anyone want to put people through anything like this?" Lucy asked.

"Well, there are plus sides to having to face your fears. Sometimes people who have horrible aversions and phobias can get over them when they are exposed to the things they are scared of… And in reality facing your fears in a dream-space like this could make it easier for people to face the things that they are afraid of in their real lives." Levy explained, though her own anxieties and uncertainties were starting to become noticeable, at least to Lucy.

"What are you afraid of Levy?" Lucy asked as she held her hand out for the script mage to hold.

"I am afraid of so many things, Lu-chan." Levy said with a slight giggle as she took Lucy's hand. "What's killing me now is the anticipation. I would much rather just get it over with then have to sit here and think about everything that could be waiting for me."

It was then that the girls heard the sound of footsteps. They looked up to find that Gray and Jellal had returned. Gray had appeared to look relieved; his shoulders were not as tense as before and his guild mark had returned to its original look of deep blue. Erza was the first to approach the two boys, while the others remained where they were.

"How do you feel, Gray?" Erza asked. She was barely able to conceal the concern that she felt about her friend.

"I feel better now, but I have a lot to think about." Gray responded and he looked around the room. His eyes stopped to rest on Juvia, who was still leaning up against Gajeel. Juvia gave him a small smile in return. Their exchange did not go unnoticed by Erza who smirked as she said, "Go talk to her."

"I will." Gray said and started walking towards the water mage.

"I will be going next." Erza announced, causing everyone in the room to turn their attention to her.

"I trust," Erza shot deadly looks at Natsu, Gray, and Gajeel as she continued, "that you will be able to behave yourselves while I am gone."

"Aye sir!" Natsu and Gray said in unison as they stood at attention giving Erza a salute. Gajeel raised an eye brow at the two mages before grunting his response. Lucy and Levy giggled at the boys and Juvia's smile widened. Erza nodded in satisfaction and turned to face Jellal. No words were spoken between the two before they both turned and made their way down the hallway.

"Is it just me, or is Erza just as scary as a kid as she is as an adult?" Lucy asked causing Levy to burst into giggles.

"You have no idea." Levy replied.

* * *

It was not long after the two children begun their walk down the hall that Erza reached out and took Jellal's hand.

It was a simple action, but it carried so much meaning with it. Jellal already knew the effect this ordeal was having on him. He was easily reminded of his time as a child, his time with Erza. Oh, how simple things were back then. They could just be friends. They could care for each other, be there when the weight of the world seemed to crush them. They hid nothing from each other and certainly not their feelings. Something about it seemed pure and untouched. Unlike what was between them now. Now it felt complicated, strained… tainted, and all because of his actions.

But now, Jellal refused to do anything to hurt the girl in front of him. He would give anything to prevent any harm from coming to her, physical or emotional. So when she approached him before Gajeel and Levy returned to ask that he accompany her, he accepted without hesitation. It was nice to be here, together, as kids again and he wanted to spend as much time with her as he could. But a thought kept poking through from the back of his mind: _being here with her as kids, it doesn't change anything when we leave…_ He would still be a criminal; she would still be the Titania. They would still live in separate worlds, paths that ran next to each other, but could not mix. If their paths ever crossed, it would only be for a brief period of time.

Jellal did not want this experience to lead Erza to believe differently. To do so would be to mislead her and ultimately cause her pain. He wouldn't do it. He tightened his grip on her hand before he spoke.

"Erza, I—" Jellal began, but was interrupted when the girl turned abruptly and pulled him into a firm embrace. Jellal's arms held on to her lightly, returning the hug.

"Jellal, when was the last time that we hugged? Like a real hug between us." Erza asked, her sweet voice held genuine concern.

"I—" Jellal stumbled, not expecting the question that came from the scarlet haired girl.

"I think at Ryuzetsu Land, it was more to protect my modesty. Then at the Tower of Heaven you…" Erza paused and hugged Jellal tighter. "You weren't yourself."

Jellal couldn't help but be amazed at how Erza, despite all that he had done to her, still treated him as if he was the one who was hurt. She understood that he was possessed and all of his actions during that time… Erza didn't hold those things against him. _Gods I love this girl,_ Jellal thought and allowed himself to hug the girl tighter.

"It must have been before they took you away after they found the tunnel we had been digging..." Jellal whispered and he allowed his chin to rest on her shoulder. Erza felt Jellal finally relax into the hug and smiled as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"This is nice." Erza whispered back and took a deep breath. She released her tight hold on the boy in front of her. Feeling Erza release him, Jellal moved back slightly to meet Erza's eyes. Erza held on to one of Jellal's hands, interlocking their fingers.

"Erza, I—" Jellal tried again to speak to the young girl, but Erza spoke up before he could continue.

"Back then, you were always so good making me feel better when I was scared. Can you do that for me again?"

"Yes, of course." Jellal replied quickly.

"That's all I ask." Erza smiled before taking her eyes off of the blue haired boy to look down at her shoes. She appeared to be preparing herself mentally and trying to shake off the tension already evident in her shoulders.

"Are you ready then?" Jellal whispered. He hated to move ahead, but at the same time felt selfish for wanting to stay here. It felt so good to hold her for that brief moment. He wished that it could last forever.

"Yes," Erza mumbled and nodded her head trying to steel her own resolve to move forward. "Let's continue." Erza said and stole another glance at Jellal before turning back to walk down the hallway hand in hand with the boy. The two had only walked a couple of steps before a sapphire blue light pulsed from a singular point in the hallway.

The scene changed around them rapidly instantly surrounding the two in a flurry of gold light, causing Erza to jump back slightly. The randomly moving whirls of gold seemed to shoot around and began to collide with others to form shapes. The shapes began to form the scenery, as if being assembled piece by piece. Then when all the shapes fell into their rightful place they pulsed with the briefest shine of white light before gaining a normal appearance.

The first things to appear clearly were dark stone blocks, broken in some places, making up the ruins of a battle ground. The sky appeared next, dark and ominous looking above them. Then with another blinding glow a console appeared with a lacrima screen showing a map of Fiore with hundreds of places marked on the map. Overlaying the map was a timer that was ticking down; 18 minutes, 43 seconds.

Another blinding flash gave way to maniacal laughter drawing Erza and Jellal's attention to the newest appearance. Laying on the ground and covered in scrapes, cuts, and bruises was Erza. This Erza's clothes were barely intact and her armor had clearly been broken to pieces, some of which the young Erza could recognize as being part of the debris surrounding her. She instantly recognized this place and time before she saw the demon woman appear.

"Kyoka…" The young Erza mumbled, barely loud enough for Jellal to hear. Then, as if she had been summoned, with a glow of white light the demon appeared. The harpy-like woman had one of her talon like feet pressing into Erza's stomach. Jellal could clearly see that Erza was in an immense amount of pain.

"These are your last moments here on this earth. You should feel more despair…" As the demon woman spoke, the young Erza visibly shivered and crossed her arms across her chest as she remembered the discomfort of that day. Jellal looked on at a loss of what to do to comfort Erza; instead he stood paralyzed as the demon continued her torment.

"First, I will take your sight." Kyoka and let out an evil laugh. The young Erza gripped her arms more firmly as the wounded Erza shivered as she began to lose her senses. For the first time since she arrived, she wished she had her armor with her.

"Next your sense of touch… your sense of taste, your sense of smell…" The harpy demon continued, clearly amused by the whole thing. It was odd for the young girl to actually watch as it all happened without actually experiencing the afflictions the demon placed on her.

"And your hearing… This will be the last thing that you ever hear…" The demon spoke in an almost malicious coo. At this the young Erza started to quiver and shut her eyes against the scene in front of her.

"Erza…" Jellal said as he approached the scarlet haired girl, but before he could reach her, everything shattered into warping golden shapes that moved around rapidly to form a new scene. The shapes again gave off a bright light before turning into what appeared to be icy walls. The next to appear were pieces of Erza's armor, scattered about on the snowy ground, and then finally was another child-like Erza, dressed in a way too big shirt, so large that it fit her like a dress. This Erza was examining herself in the reflection of the ice.

"This is so odd." Erza mumbled as she watched herself. Jellal looked at the scene confused; especially when both of the young versions of Erza had blush appear on their cheeks at the exact same moment.

"I don't know what this means." Erza said out-loud in an attempt to keep her thoughts straight. She was feeling the exact same emotions she felt that day. The embarrassment and the insecurity felt as though she was living the memory over again. She even blushed and became flustered when the thought that Jellal wouldn't want her as a child came through her mind again.

"What is this?" Jellal asked, but before Erza could answer the scene burst into a whirlwind of golden shapes.

"I… I think these are memories…" Erza said as a new scene came into view piece by piece after a series of bright lights. Erza and Jellal found themselves almost completely surrounded by vine and the twisted limbs of trees. A couple of branches away, once again, was Erza. Her limbs were trapped in twisted tree branches and she was trying desperately to get out of the restraints. She was dressed in her red flame patterned pants and her cloth chest binding.

"I don't understand the connections between these memories." The young Erza said as the scene was still taking shape. She could start to feel fatigue flowing through her body, again as if she were relieving the moment in front of her. Her breathing suddenly became labored when a figure formed from the golden shapes a few branches away.

It was a man with dark skin dressed in tribal like armor on his waist and legs. His wild and thick hair sat in a mess on his head and his facial hair came to a rough point. His eyes held a crazed and angry look as he held out his hands to call upon his magic.

"Azuma!" The young Erza said and her eyes widened slightly. She knew what was coming next and her thought instantly went to Levy, who had been hurt by whatever she encountered in Gajeel's dream. "No." Erza mumbled while Jellal watched as the tribal warrior spoke.

"Fairy Tail's Titania, Erza Scarlet. I will never forget your name for as long as I live." Azuma called out as he prepared to unleash his attack.

"Jellal, we have to get out of here!" The young Erza shouted as she ran over to grab the boy's hand.

"What? Why?" Jellal said as Erza began pulling the boy with her as she tried running to get away from the oncoming attack.

"This will end you!" Azuma said solemnly. Jellal's eyes grew big as he saw the giant ball of energy that formed behind Azuma. Jellal didn't stick around to hear the rest and started running with Erza as fast as they could go. Erza could feel the magical power as it was released.

"Watch out!" She yelled and tackled Jellal in an attempt to protect him with her own body. Just as the blast seemed to envelope the two children, the scene again burst into the golden swirling shapes. Jellal laid out on his back breathing heavy as the golden shapes began moving around him faster. Erza lifted herself up slightly, though still lying over Jellal. She was straddling his hips and her arms were on either side of his head trying to support her weight, she was breathing heavy and it appeared as though sweat had started to accumulate on her forehead.

"Erza, why did you do that?" Jellal asked as he lifted himself to rest on his elbows.

"I wasn't thinking. I just remembered that Levy got hurt and Azuma was going to attack and I didn't want you to get hurt!" Erza tried to explain in a panic filled voice as she blushed slightly and moved to a sitting position.

"Erza, you would have been hurt!" Jellal said with a tone of worry. Erza felt as though tears were coming to her eyes, but they didn't seem to fit with what was going on. Then Erza realized the position she was in over Jellal and jumped off the boy quickly and tried to fix her skirt so that it hung appropriately. Jellal blushed slightly when Erza moved off of him, but quickly went to follow the girl. He was more concerned with the tears falling from her eyes.

"I got overwhelmed. These memories… nothing seems to connect them and I feel everything that I felt when those things happened. These memories… they are moving too fast." Erza said as she crossed her arms over her chest, gripping her arms tightly as if it would hold her together. Erza seemed to be bordering on hysterics as more tears streamed from her eyes. Jellal watched the girl with a worried look on her face as the scene formed around them. The ground transformed into a mountain cliff, shapes settled to form the ruins of what used to be some kind of stone building. The sun could be seen rising through the mist that clung to the neighboring mountains. The sky was a beautiful shade of red and pink as the morning sun's rays started to force away the darkness of the night.

Jellal turned when he heard a second person sobbing. Sitting up against one of the ruins was the adult Erza. She was dressed in her white blouse and blue skirt. Her skin was marked with scratches and dirt and she sat with her knees up close to her chest and her arms wrapped around her knees. This Erza was already in hysterics.

"I'm sorry, Erza." Jellal said to try and comfort the young girl. At his words, the young girl dropped to her knees. "What can I do to help?"

"I don't know…" Erza responded with a slight whimper in her voice. "I feel as though my heart is breaking." She explained through her tears. Jellal got down on to his knees and pulled her into a hug. It was then that scene shattered into its random, whirling golden shapes. The two children didn't pay attention to how the scene changed this time. Instead Jellal focused on holding Erza close to him. Erza was focusing on trying to stop her tears from falling. Neither of them looked up until they heard something that chilled them both to their very core.

"I have no more time to play with you, Erza." This voice was one that had haunted both of their dreams for a long time. It reminded the two of a time that they would rather forget, but could never seem to escape.

It was Jellal's voice.

The two children broke away from each other to find that they were in what was the Tower of Heaven after it had been turned into a giant lacrima. The adult Jellal stood with a haughty air about him, hands in his pocket and adorned in his dark jacket as he explained to the woman about the energy stored in the lacrima and the need for a powerful human sacrifice. His eyes were cold and if it was even possible, his voice sounded colder. It was as if he was a completely different person. They young Erza had to remind herself that he was a different person back then.

Meanwhile, the adult Erza stood powerless to do anything as she was trapped by the magical binding snake enchantment, though she struggled nonetheless as a giant lacrima stone was brought up behind her and she was pushed into it.

"I loved you, Erza." The adult Jellal said coolly as a hint of mirth flashed in his eyes. The young Jellal felt so disgusted at his own actions that he felt sick. The boy began coughing as if he was having dry heaves and had a distinct feeling of bile in his throat and acid burning in his nose. The young scarlet haired girl watched as if she were frozen as she watched her adult-self curse and struggle to escape the lacrima that was slowly swallowing her.

"Jellal!" The woman screamed in frustration and the scene burst in the golden light once again.

"Jellal… are you okay?" Erza asked as she crawled over to the boy as he remained hunched over and coughing. She sniffed as a few more tears fell from her eyes.

"I should be asking you that." Jellal whispered back to the girl. Erza just shook her head as she reached out to hug Jellal.

"That memory was just as bad for you as it was for me." She whispered and squeezed the boy as tight as she could as if he would slip away if she wasn't careful. Jellal opened his mouth to apologize for his past actions, but found himself cut off before he could begin.

"I think I know what the connection is now." She said as the next memory began to unfold with another bright light. It was sunset in Magnolia by the river that ran through town. Erza saw herself standing in one of her first pieces of armor next to the river facing Gray, who was only in his underwear. This Erza had been crying, and Jellal could see a bandage that covered her right eye. Again, guilt washed over him, but Jellal looked on at the calm scene as he returned Erza's hug.

"Tell me something," Gray said with an almost accusing tone. "How come you're alone all the time?" The girl Gray addressed looked down at the ground before she softly replied to the boy.

"I just prefer to be alone." She said and paused before she continued.

"I lied to Gray that day." Erza said as she and Jellal watched as Gray sat down next to Erza by the river. Jellal looked down at the girl in his arms and with confusion, but didn't get the chance to ask her what she meant. The scene once again broke into the swirling golden shapes, though they seemed to be moving in slow motion this time. When they reformed, the two were greeted by a pleasant scene.

Erza and Jellal found themselves sitting in the midst a beautiful day in a small village. The town road was made of cobblestone and the many bushes and plants that hedged the buildings of the village supported a variety of different flowers. From where the two sat, birds could be heard chirping peacefully and in the distance, children could be heard playing. Erza stood slowly followed by Jellal. She took Jellal's hand and began walking down the road.

"What do you mean that you lied to Gray?" Jellal asked as he was being led through the village. Erza took a turn at a gate that surrounded a large building. It was similar in style to the other buildings in town, but this building was at least three stories. It looked slightly worn down, but nothing indicated that the building was uninhabitable or abandoned. In fact, the large yard and garden that surrounded the building was filled with the sounds of playing children. The sign by the building read: "Rosemary Village Orphanage."

"I was alone all the time because I felt like I was supposed to be alone." Erza said and wiped a stray tear from her eyes. She led Jellal around to the side of the orphanage. At the back of the building was a porch that overlooked the large open yard. An older woman sat on the porch swing, rocking back and forth while comforting a small child in her lap.

"I thought that no one wanted me, that for one reason or another I was just… insufficient and so I was just meant to be alone." Erza said in a quiet voice as she led Jellal to observe the child being comforted on the porch swing. The child was only about two or three years old and had beautiful scarlet colored hair that fell to her neck. She was dressed in a light green dress and had no shoes on her feet. She was softly crying as the older woman ran her hand through the small child's hair.

"That's you?" Jellal asked as they watched the woman sooth the toddler. Erza nodded and let go of Jellal's hand to cross her arms over her chest. She found that she felt more vulnerable now than she had in any of her previous memories.

"I was abandoned just outside the village. I never knew my parents. My earliest memories are of this orphanage. It wasn't until later that I began to venture out of the orphanage and into the village more. That was when I met Simon. It wasn't too long after I met Simon that our village was attacked and we both ended up at the Tower of Heaven."

"I am afraid that I don't understand." Jellal said as he turned away from the young girl to look at Erza.

"What don't you understand?" Erza said in a calm voice still watching the small child.

"All of these memories that we just went through… What is it that you are afraid of?" Jellal asked with hesitancy.

"I'm afraid that…" Erza paused to take in a shaky breath and look down at her feet. Tears began to fall again and although she tried to steady her voice, it still cracked when she spoke. "I'm afraid that no matter what I do or what I accomplish, I will always be that little girl that no one wants... I am afraid that I will always be lacking something... I'm afraid that no one will ever want me…"

"Erza…" Jellal whispered and took a step closer to her, but Erza shrugged away from his touch.

"I know that it's not true. I know that I have Fairy Tail and that they would never abandon me. I know that I have friends. I know that they are the closest thing that I have to a family and that I will always belong with them. But…" Erza said as she gripped her arms tighter. "… deep down I always wonder, will anyone ever truly want me? Not out of fear, or some silly obligation, or admiration, or some moral code of honor… just me."

Erza let out a breath that she didn't realize that she had been holding. There was some feeling of relief that came with admitting to her feelings out loud, even if it was just to Jellal and even if it was just in this weird dream world. All of the panic and anxiety that she felt since the beginning of this nightmare seemed to melt away to be replaced by a deep and aching feeling in her heart. The feeling was so encompassing that she didn't realize that Jellal had approached her again. Before she could react, Jellal brought her into a hug and began to rub her back soothingly with one of his hands.

"I will." He whispered.

"What?" Erza asked in confusion.

"I will always want you." He whispered again. "I'm not afraid of you. Though I feel obliged to fix everything that I have done to you, to everyone, I don't feel like my obligation is to want you. If anything, my moral code is telling me that wanting you is the last thing I should ever ask for and my feelings go so much deeper than admiration."

As Jellal spoke, Erza slowly brought her arms up to return his embrace.

"I want you. I just wish that I could show you how much." Jellal whispered.

"You aren't just saying that to make me feel better, right?" Erza asked in a quiet voice that was so uncharacteristic of her.

"I'm not." Jellal replied.

"Promise?" Erza said with a tired voice.

"I promise." Jellal said with a small chuckle. Erza released a small giggle of her own, realizing how silly and childish it was to ask Jellal to make her a promise. At the same time, she felt so soothed by his words that she felt some of the tense muscles in her shoulders and back begin to relax.

"Thank you, Jellal." Erza said and pulled herself out of his comforting embrace. She looked around at the calm and peaceful sounds of the orphanage and her eyes came to rest on the scarlet haired toddler, who had fallen asleep in the older woman's lap. "It's so peaceful here. I wish we could stay for a while longer…"

"I know what you mean." Jellal replied with a small smile on his face. "But we can't stay here forever."

"Yes, and the others will be waiting for us." Erza said with a self-assured nod. "How do we leave this place?"

"I am not sure." Jellal admitted. "With Gray, the environment remained the same, so we simply retraced our steps until we found our way back. Here everything changed and it changed so quickly that I couldn't tell if there was a distinct direction one way or the other."

"I think I know…" Erza said with a sniffle and a small smile as she reached out to take Jellal's hand. "I hadn't thought about it before, but each time the memory changed, it reminded me of something."

"What?" Jellal asked.

"My requip magic." Erza answered and closed her eyes. Once again, the scene changed in a swirl of golden shapes leaving the orphanage behind. Then in a blinding flash of light, the stone floor appeared followed by the walls and ceiling of the hallway leaving the pair right back where they started. She opened her eyes a breathed a heavy sigh when she saw that they had returned to the hallway.

"Your magic really is beautiful… when it's not terrifyingly quick and deadly." Jellal said with a smirk. Erza just smiled and started walking down the hallway without saying a word. After a few steps, a sapphire blue light pulsed through the hallway and Jellal noticed something strange. "The light was blue."

Erza turned and gave Jellal a confused look. Jellal smiled and took his hand to touch the Fairy Tail emblem on Erza's arm that had completely filled in. "Just like your guild mark."

Erza smiled at Jellal and blushed slightly when he touched her guild mark. The gesture seemed oddly intimate, despite its simplicity. She could understand why Gajeel had jerked away from everyone when they were trying to inspect his guild mark before.

"M-m-maybe it's part of the spell that brought us here?" Erza said and quickly turned back to continue walking towards the group.

"Wait." Jellal said causing Erza to turn towards him sharply. "I was going to ask you before. I want you to come with me." Jellal said nervously with a slight blush on his cheeks which earned him an odd look from Erza.

"I meant, I was going to ask if you would accompany me while I…" Jellal paused as he began to feel suddenly embarrassed from making the simple request. "I mean it would be a waste of t-time for us to g-go back to the others just to come back together… I mean unless you don't want to come with me…" Jellal said as he turned away from Erza and scratched the back of his head, feeling his embarrassment grow. Erza placed a reassuring hand on Jellal's arm.

"Yes, I will go with you."

* * *

 **There it is, the highly anticipated Erza chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it.**

 **To Crimsonlink310: Cop-out is a strong word. These are simply my rationales for the way I have depicted the characters.**

 **To Meffisto: Don't think of the fears as having been resolved. Many of these feelings that each of them are facing are far too complex to be resolved so quickly. Instead, think of it as acceptance of their fears.**

 **Just a reminder for all of you, I am leaving for vacation tomorrow and will not be back for over a week. I will try to post the next chapter when I get back.**

 **Thank you to those who reviewed, followed, and/or favorited.**

 **Please review to let me know what you think.**


	12. Chapter 12

_We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light._ _―_ _Plato_

"Yes, I will go with you." Erza agreed giving Jellal an understanding smile. They both turned back towards the point in the hall where all the dreams began. As Jellal walked through, Erza saw the hall pulse a red color before she followed her friend.

"I really meant what I said before." Jellal said and turned around to look at Erza. She smiled again thinking about how Jellal had said that he would always want her. She could even feel the blush dusting her cheeks at his remarks. She looked up to meet his eyes only to become confused. Jellal wasn't looking at her. In fact it appeared that he was looking through her.

"Erza!" He shouted and began to look around frantically; the panic was evident in his voice and on his face. "Erza? Where are you?"

"Jellal, I'm right here. What's going on?" Erza said, but it seemed like he didn't hear her.

"What the—" Before she could finish her question, Jellal looked up as if he had heard something and then he took off running.

"Jellal, wait!" She shouted and ran after the boy. Something was off about this. Why would Jellal not be able to see her? Why wouldn't he be able to hear her? Her thoughts were interrupted when Jellal stop suddenly ahead of her. Erza watched as he began to frantically turn his head from one side to the other. As far as Erza could tell there was nothing that had changed about the dark, stone hall. But Erza had seen the deep red pulse that radiated from the threshold of this dream world; _this must be a dream of some kind._

"Erza!" He yelled and then stilled. Jellal's body was tensed and after what seemed like a second or two, he burst into a run again. Not knowing what else she could do, Erza just followed the blue haired boy as he ran frantically down the hall. They had only run another thirty seconds before Jellal came to a sudden halt.

"Erza!" He said, but this time it didn't sound as though he was looking for her. Instead, it sounded as though he were talking to her.

"Jellal, what is it?" Erza said stopping just a few feet behind him.

"He can't hear me, he can't see me, it's I'm not even here." Erza said as she watched her friend. Despite not running any more, Jellal was still reacting to whatever it was he was experiencing. She saw the boy walk slightly to the side as if to look behind something. Then Jellal began to shift his head as if watching something taking place at the end of the hall only to turn his head back again to the opposite end.

"No!" Jellal yelled and then turned away from her. "Erza you have to tell them. You have to protect yourself. Just tell them!"

"Tell them what?" Erza asked. She was beginning to feel flustered just watching how distressed Jellal was getting. She had never seen him get this flustered before. _No, wait…_ Erza thought as she started to recognize his behavior.

"No Erza! Don't do this! Please just give them what they want!" Jellal he yelled while facing away from her. _I have seen him like this befor,_ Erza thought as she remembered.

"Jellal, listen to me. This is just an illusion, just like you faced when you fought against Midnight." Erza shouted trying to get through to him.

"No!" Jellal yelled and Erza could hear the sheer terror in his voice. The boy turned to face her and Erza could see the tears running down his face. He took one step before making a lunge at Erza. She easily side-stepped his sloppy attack and got ready for Jellal to make a second lunge at her, but he never did. Instead he again turned to look her direction, but he wasn't looking at her. He was still looking through her.

"Jellal, I don't know how to break this illusion," Erza said, still trying to reach out to him. _There is no one to fight here,_ Erza thought. Seeing Jellal this upset was starting to unnerve her. She wanted to get him out of there, whatever it was that he was suffering through.

"Scarlet…" Jellal whispered and Erza heard what she thought was the sound of his voice cracking. Tears were flowing freely from his eyes now. Erza walked over to stand in front of him, feeling helpless as she watched the boy in front of her begin to unravel.

"Jellal, it's not real. It's just an illusion, it can't hurt you. It can't touch you!" Erza started yelling hoping that he could hear her voice through the vision.

"No. Stop this. I can't take it anymore." Jellal cried out and he fell to his knees practically bursting into hysterics. He clenched his eyes closed tightly in an attempt to block out whatever he was seeing.

"That's it!" Erza said and she kneeled before her friend. _The illusion can't touch you, but I can._

"Someone, anyone, just make it stop. Please… make it stop…" Jellal cried as Erza reached out to cup his face in her hands. Jellal's eyes opened at her touch and looked into her eyes. Erza could see the recognition appear on his face almost immediately. He quickly wrapped his arms around her.

"Erza, make it stop." He whimpered as he brought his forehead to rest in the crook of her neck. "Please Erza… just make it stop."

* * *

Gray had been reluctant to approach Juvia, especially since she seemed comfortable leaning up against Gajeel, but he needed to talk to her. He wasn't sure why he had been suddenly overwhelmed with the need to talk to the water mage. Maybe it was that he had finally admitted to himself why he chose to be so isolative. Maybe it was that he felt that she needed to know it too. Maybe it was that Erza had told him long ago to be honest with her and that Erza had told him to talk to her again just before she left. Whatever the reason, he just needed to talk to her.

Gray made his way over to Juvia and Gajeel. As he approached, Gajeel gave him a glare that spoke more than any words Gajeel could have said. It was a warning that if Juvia was in anyway hurt that Gajeel would seek revenge on her behalf. Gray nodded towards him. He understood the message loud and clear. At that Gajeel started to get up causing Juvia to look up and see Gray.

"I need to move my legs…" Gajeel muttered as he got up to walk away and give the two mages a little bit of privacy. Juvia accepted his excuse with a nod and straightened up. She began to mess with the skirt of her dress again, a habit that she had started since finding herself in the frilly material.

"Juvia, could we… talk?" Gray asked nervously. Juvia nodded and smiled, though she did not look up from the skirt of her dress. Gray sat down where Gajeel had been sitting. He let one leg straightened out, while the other bent so that he could rest his forearm on his knee. He looked sideways at Juvia still trying to figure out which words would be the best for him to use.

"Did Gray-sama find that his dream was insightful?" Juvia asked before Gray could say anything.

"Umm… yeah, I guess you could say that." Gray said hesitantly. "Juvia, I wanted to explain something."

"Juvia is listening." The water mage said, though she still refused to look at Gray. Something about that seemed to upset Gray more than anything.

"Juvia, why won't you look at me?" Gray asked.

"Juvia worries. Juvia thinks that this place makes everyone emotional. This place brings out emotions that Juvia would not normally let anyone see. Juvia thinks that if no one looks into Juvia's eyes, they will not see the emotions that she tries to hide." Juvia mumbled and looked at the stone ground in the opposite direction that Gray was sitting. Gray was instantly reminded of his conversation with Lucy. Lucy was right about Juvia, she hides part of herself away. Gray could suddenly feel his face contort with concern.

"I think that you are right. This place puts every shred of emotion right in front so that anyone can see it." Gray said as he shifted his gaze to look down at the ground. "I think that it's because we are dreaming. We are usually by ourselves in our sleep, so we don't have to hide those things. Usually, we are the only ones who get to see them." Gray shifted on the ground so that he sat facing Juvia instead of sitting next to her.

"But, what I want to say is important. I would like to share something with you that I don't share with a lot of people." Gray said and brought a hand up to Juvia's chin. Juvia froze slightly and allowed for Gray to slowly turn her head so that she faced him, but she kept her eyes looking down. "Juvia, will you look at me while we talk? I need to know that you understand what I am trying to say to you."

Juvia shut her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. Then she opened her eyes to look straight into Gray's eyes. Gray could see that her eyes looked like they were forming tears.

"Juvia, I am an idiot and an asshole." Gray said which caused Juvia to let out a sound that was half a sob and half a giggle. Gray kept his face serious and opened his hand to cup Juvia's face. "I have been a complete fool. For a long time, I have kept myself from opening up to people. I have kept my feelings bottled up to the point that they seem strange to me now and I do it because I'm afraid that when I get attached to someone that it will hurt when I lose them. I was so tired of hurting after I lost Ur and my parents. I thought that this was the only way to make it through life without hurting that way again. But then there was Ultear and then again with my Dad…" As Gray spoke, his own eyes began to tear up, though he tried his best to keep the tears from falling.

"Juvia is sorry that she had to―" Juvia started to say, but was cut off by the dark haired boy.

"No, it's okay Juvia. That's not what I meant, I…" Gray closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them, Juvia saw a look of renewed determination although Gray's eyes remained watery as if holding back tears. "What I am trying to say is that I am weak and I have been acting selfish. I want to have feelings for you, but I am afraid that if I do that… that one day you will be gone and I will be in pain again… But I don't want to be this way anymore."

Juvia's expression went from being worried to shock. Was she hearing what she thought she was hearing? Did the boy in front of her really mean what he was saying? This whole thing seemed surreal to Juvia. Maybe it was this dream world that made everything seem as though everything going on was so wrong and at the same time so right. Her eyes flickered slightly when she zoned out to focus on her thoughts. Her attention was brought back when Gray said her name again.

"Juvia, you are my friend. There might be a day when we could be more than just friends, but I'm not ready to open myself up to that yet. I need time." Gray said as he looking into Juvia's deep blue eyes. Something about her eyes was so comforting to him. They were soothing, like the sound of ocean waves. "I just need time. Can you give me some time?"

"Gray-sama is not ready to accept his feelings yet?" Juvia asked. Gray smiled and nodded his head. "And Gray-sama wants for Juvia to give him time to accept his feelings?"

"Yes." Gray said and nodded. Not once did Juvia's eyes leave his eyes.

"And Gray-sama promises that Juvia is his friend; that he cares about Juvia as a friend?" Juvia said as tears started to slowly spill from her eyes. Seeing her tears brought a small hint of heartache to Gray and he quickly tried to wipe them away at the same time, he could feel as though a tear or two was escaping from his own eyes.

"Yes, I promise." Gray replied. A small smile came to Juvia's face and without hesitation she launched herself towards the boy to bring him into a tight embrace that nearly knocked both of them down to the hard stone floor.

"Juvia can give Gray-sama time." She said and burst into a series of giggles. Gray chuckled to himself before he returned the hug.

"Thanks, Juvia." He mumbled into the girl's blue hair and closed his eyes. He wanted to remember how this felt, the happy feeling that it gave him.

"Gray-sama is welcome." Juvia replied.

* * *

"I really meant what I said before." Jellal said and turned around to look at his companion only to find that she wasn't there.

"Erza!" Jellal shouted in panic. She was just there and then suddenly she was gone.

"Erza? Where are you?" Jellal's breathing became erratic. He looked around desperately trying to find some clue about where she had gone, but nothing looked off. The hallway still looked looming and cold. He closed his eyes in an attempt to calm himself and that was when he heard it: a woman's scream. _Erza's scream._ Without another thought, the young boy opened his eyes and started running in the direction of the scream.

As he ran, the hallway began to change. The hallway seemed to get slightly wider and torches began to replace the pervious light sources. This was all missed on the boy who was desperate to find his friend. He was forced to stop and take notice when hallway broke off into three directions. Jellal was once again flustered and didn't know which way to go.

"Erza!" He yelled, hoping that his friend would hear him and respond.

"No!" Jellal only faintly heard the yell of the woman. He started running straight ahead again towards the sound of her voice. He didn't have to run far. At the end of the hallway was a wooden door that had been left ajar. Jellal could see that the door had a small window at the top that was covered by iron bars. Jellal entered the room. It was long and reminded Jellal of the cells they kept the slaves in at the Tower of Heaven, although there were slight differences. The hay on the ground would have been an improvement to the stone floor that he had slept on far too many times as a child. This room also had one window that was high above the floor. Even at his height as an adult he wouldn't be able to reach it, that and it was also covered in bars. There would be little point to trying to reach it. What he saw next had him stuck to the spot and sent chills down his spine.

There was Erza, as an adult. She wore a sleeveless night dress, her feet were bare and hands had been tied together in front of her, _likely with magic canceling rope,_ Jellal thought. Her face showed evidence that she had been crying, her eyes were puffy and the dirt on her face made it easy to see where tears had fallen. The woman had what appeared to be cuts along her arms and legs. Jellal suspected that she had them along her back too.

"Erza!" Jellal called out, but no one responded. _She can't hear me…_

She had a pleading look on her face. Jellal followed her gaze to see five others in the room with her. Four of them were in dark cloaks which hid their identities well. The fifth person was someone Jellal did not recognize, but he had a menacing look about him. The man was tall, with sharp facial features and a pointed nose. His black hair fell past his shoulders and his face was accented by a dark and pointed goatee. However the most startling feature of this man was his eyes. His eyes were black and they were missing the spark that most people had in their eyes. This man's eyes seemed empty, soulless. Jellal couldn't suppress the chill that ran down spine. The man stood there, and amused smirk on his face with one arm across his chest as the other stroked his goatee. He seemed to be the one in charge, as the four cloaked people stood behind him.

"It surprises me," The man spoke with an arrogant tone. Erza shifted as if she were about to be attacked. "I would have thought that he would have come for the two of you by now."

 _Two of you…_ Jellal thought and turned to look back at Erza. He hadn't seen it before, but now he could see a figure hiding behind Erza with one hand that was holding on to her leg. Jellal couldn't tell who it was, so he walked closer to try to see the child who was hiding. He was shocked by what he saw. The child was a little girl, maybe five or six years old and was almost identical to the girl he knew as a slave in the Tower of Heaven. She had the same scarlet hair and the same soft brown eyes and was only shorter than Jellal by a little more than a head's length. She wore a nightgown that fell just past her knees and was dirty just like the one her mother wore.

"You really should just tell us where he is, Erza." The man said in a taunting manner.

"I told you, I don't know where he is." Erza responded with a quivering voice. Jellal realized that she was scared. _What was she so afraid of?_ Jellal couldn't help but wonder. The Erza he knew wasn't someone that could be easily intimidated like this. There was something else that he didn't know.

"Do you really expect for me to believe that?" The man chuckled darkly. "Answer this for me then. Why would a husband not tell his wife and child where he was going or when he would be back? Especially if he just found out his wife was with child again?"

 _She's pregnant…_

Erza stood there, trying to look unfazed by the man's questions, but Jellal could see the tears starting to form in her eyes again. Who exactly was this man that Erza was so desperate to try and protect? She needed to think of her child and her unborn baby. She already looks like she has taken a beating…

"So let's stop the brave charade, my dear." The man began speaking again. "I really mean you no harm; I certainly mean no harm to your children. But I need to know where he is and I am willing to use any means necessary to find out." At those words, Erza tensed and shifted protectively in front of her child as if it would hide the little girl better.

"Where is your husband, Mrs. Fernandez?" The man asked.

Jellal froze. _She's trying to protect me?_ He thought in surprise. He watched Erza and could start to see the resolve form in her eyes.

"No!" Jellal shouted and stood in front of her. "Erza you have to tell them. You have to protect yourself. Just tell them!"

No one reacted to him.

"I don't know." Erza said, but this time her eyes had hardened. Her shoulders straightened and her face didn't hold its pleading look anymore. Jellal knew that look. She was ready to take another beating for him.

"No Erza! Don't do this! Please just give them what they want!" Jellal continued to shout as tears began to stream from his eyes. Again, he went unnoticed as the scene continued to unfold around him.

"Pity." The man said, though the levity in his voice hardy made him sound upset over the situation.

"It seems like we are getting nowhere with your lashings. I am beginning to grow impatient. We will have to step things up a notch." The man turned to look his subordinates and issued an order. "Grab the girl."

"No!" The words came from both Erza and Jellal at the same time. The cloaked men moved towards Erza and the girl who quivered behind her. The blue haired boy stood facing the men in an attempt to protect the two girls. He lunged at them with a raised fist in an attempt to fight, only to find that he just passed right through them. _I'm powerless here. There's nothing I can do._

The little girl began to cry and back away from the approaching men. As they approached, Erza made her move. Erza lunged at the closest servant, pushing him into the stone wall. The next servant went down with sweeping kick taking the man's legs out from under him. But that was as lucky as the requip mage could get. As she kneed the third servant in the stomach causing him to double over, the fourth servant took advantage of her position to knock her off balance. He grabbed her bound hands and pulled the woman forward. Erza wasn't able to catch herself before landing on her arms and stomach on the floor. Jellal watched as the first two servants recovered. The one of them helped to secure Erza to the ground while the other grabbed the small girl.

"Please…" Erza begged as she tried to lift herself off the floor. Tears were running freely from her eyes now. "Do anything to me… just please leave her out of this."

"You know what you need to do to stop this," The dark man taunted as two of the servants dragged the small red haired child forward.

"Scarlet! Baby, look at Mommy." Erza called to her child. The child turned to look at her mother's tearful face. "Daddy and I love you so much. You're such a strong little girl. None of this is going to change that."

"Scarlet…" Jellal whispered.

The cloaked men had a hold of the girl, one man on each arm. The men held the girl up to the stone wall. Each man had one hand on her shoulder and the other on her wrist holding her still, although the little girl didn't fight against the men's grip.

"Mommy, I'm scared." The girl whimpered as tears fell freely from her face.

"I know, baby, I know." Erza cried as she struggled against the men holding her down.

"No. Stop this. I can't take it anymore." Jellal cried out and he fell to his knees practically bursting into hysterics. He clenched his eyes closed tightly, unable to handle the scene anymore. "Someone, anyone, just make it stop. Please… make it stop…"

Suddenly the young boy felt small hands cup his face. He opened his eyes to find Erza, _his Erza_. He wrapped his arms around her and held on to her as if his life depended on it.

"Erza, make it stop." He whimpered as let his forehead fall and rest on the space between Erza's neck and shoulder.

* * *

 **Yay, I'm back from vacation. Does anyone know why it is that vacation can make you feel so tired?**

 **Anyway, thanks to everyone who reviewed/followed/favorited.**

 **To BanRedfox: my editor/brother said to tell you that he loves your username.**

 **I think that there were other things that I wanted to mention, but my mind is currently too frazzled to remember what they were.**

 **Please review to let me know what you think.**


	13. Chapter 13

_"_ _Never are we as honest as at night, alone with thoughts and nightmares."_

 _―_ _Laura Lam, Shadowplay_

"Please Erza… just make it stop." Jellal whispered as he cried. Erza had moved one hand to run through his hair and the opposite arm wrapped around his shoulders to hold Jellal in a comforting embrace. Erza had waited for the scene to change, to maybe allow her a look into the world that Jellal was experiencing, but nothing changed. As far as Erza could tell, they were both in the same hallway. But she could tell that Jellal was still experiencing something different because he would flinch, almost violently, and he continued to cry.

"Jellal, I need you to listen to me." Erza said in calm, yet stern tone as she pushed Jellal back slightly so that he was no longer hiding in her neck and shoulder. As she pushed Jellal away, his hands came to hold on to Erza's waist, refusing to let go of her. Jellal began to panic as the thought that if he let go, Erza might disappear and he would be alone in his nightmare again. Erza put her hands up to his face again to force him to look at her. "I want to help you, but I don't know what is going on. You need to tell me what is going on so that I can help you through this. Do you understand?"

Jellal closed his eyes and nodded as he breathing became less erratic and his cries became less hysterical. Erza could still see his struggle to maintain composure and the wincing that happened every few seconds.

"Tell me what is happening Jellal." Erza commanded. Jellal opened his eyes to look straight into Erza's eyes.

"They're hurting her." Jellal said with a shaking voice.

"Hurting who?" Erza questioned as she tried to wipe some of his tears.

"Scarlet." Jellal replied. Erza became confused by his response, wasn't she Scarlet?

"Jellal, I don't understand. What do you mean Scarlet?" Erza asked.

"Her name is Scarlet. She's…" Jellal started to say, but found that he couldn't finish the sentence. "It's all my fault, Erza. They are hurting her because of me."

"Who is hurting her, Jellal? What is your fault, Jellal?" Erza asked. As Jellal tried to look away from her, Erza roughly turned his head to look back at her. "No, Jellal! I need you to focus. What is going on?"

"I don't know who they are, but they are after me!" Jellal almost shouted and then dropped his eyes to look at the ground. "They are doing this because of me. It's my fault. I'm so sorry, Erza. I never wanted this to happen." As Jellal spoke, Erza noticed that they were no longer in a hallway. Instead, they appeared to be in a stone room that seemed to be a prison of some kind by the looks of the hay and the bar-covered window. Before Erza could say anything about the change, Jellal started speaking again. "I never wanted to be the source of your pain. I just wanted to protect you. But I couldn't… I couldn't protect either of you…"

"Jellal…" Erza mumbled as more of Jellal's illusion became visible to her. Erza saw a man with a whip in his hands and a malicious smirk on his face. Erza saw a little girl with red hair crying on the floor. Her night gown was torn on the back and was starting to turn red in some places. Erza could have sworn that the little girl was her, but something didn't seem right about that.

"Jellal, I can see her, the little girl." Erza said with a quiet shock in her voice.

"What?" Jellal whispered and looked up to see Erza staring at the girl crying on the floor. Erza turned her gaze back to Jellal.

"Keep talking to me." Erza commanded. "I can help you if I know what's going on. More of this illusion appears when you talk to me. Keep talking to me so I can help you."

"I don't know what to say." Jellal mumbled.

"Tell me something about this vision. Tell me what makes you so afraid of it." Erza said with a pleading voice. Hearing the pleading sound in her voice caused fresh tears to come to his eyes.

"You were begging them not to do it." Jellal said and brought a hand up to cup Erza's face. "You begged them, you were crying. You tried to fight them, but you couldn't use your magic. You were overwhelmed…" Erza could see in anguish in the boy's eyes as he described what happened. When his voice cracked, she let go of his face. Erza placed one hand on top of the hand Jellal had placed on her cheek. Her other hand came to rest on his wrist as if to support his touch.

"… and then they grabbed her." Jellal whispered and released a shuddering breath.

"Who did they grab?" Erza asked in a quiet voice.

"Scarlet." Jellal said as the tears began to build up in his eyes again. Erza gave him a confused look.

"I guess I will leave the two of you alone so you can discuss your new situation." Erza heard a man say. She turned abruptly to see the man who was holding the whip. He stood in the doorway as he spoke. "Though, I would give up his location soon if I were you. It only gets worse from here, Erza." The man said before slamming the door shut and the distinct clunk of the lock being secured quickly followed. Erza turned her head again when she heard a shuffling sound. Erza noticed that Jellal had also turned to look at the source of the sound.

For the first time, Erza saw herself in Jellal's dream. She noticed that this adult version of herself had cuts and bruises on her body. She noticed that her hands were bound, but that didn't stop the scarlet haired woman from pushing herself up off the floor and walking over to the crying girl. The adult Erza sat down in front of the little girl and tried her best to put her arms around the young child. The little girl pushed herself up and threw her tiny arms around her mother's neck. The adult Erza tried to sooth the small girl with shushing sounds and occasionally running a hand through the girl's hair.

"Scarlet is what you called her." Jellal said as he and Erza watched the woman try to comfort the crying girl. Erza turned to look back at Jellal. He had stopped crying, but his eyes were red and exhaustion lined his face. He had dropped his hand from her cheek and his gaze turned back to ground. "She's your daughter."

Erza tried to take in all the information in front of her. There was something about this whole dream that Jellal wasn't telling her. She turned back towards the blue haired boy.

"I don't understand, Jellal." Erza said quietly. "What aren't you telling me? Why would that man do this?"

Jellal refused to look at her now. Instead, he stood up and tried to walk away from the girl. As Erza got up to follow Jellal, he tried to open the door to the stone cell only to find that he was just as trapped here as if the cell was real. Jellal rested his forehead against the door feeling the exhaustion catching up to him quickly.

"Jellal, just tell me. It's the only way that I can help you get through this. What is going on?" Erza commanded.

"They think you know where I am." Jellal said without moving away from the door.

"Why would they think that?" Erza asked as she stood a few steps away from him.

"Because…" Jellal stopped and took a breath before leaning up against the wall next to the door. "I… because I'm Scarlet's father…" Jellal said as he allowed his body to slide down to the floor so he could sit up against the wall.

Erza stood still trying to put all of it together. Jellal was the father of her child. Her gaze suddenly shifted to the crying girl in the woman's arms, the child that resembled her so much... Jellal's little girl. Suddenly Erza's heart began to ache. What did all of this mean to Jellal? Erza turned to look at the bluenette as he looked off into the distance.

"How could this have happened?" Erza asked crassly. She had no intentions of sounding so blunt. She was so much better at direct communication, specific questions, yes or no answers, but this seemed so complex. She didn't know what questions were the right questions to ask.

"I couldn't protect you." Jellal answered, though he still refused to look at her. This made him slightly surprised when she asked the next question from just a few inches from his face. While Jellal wasn't paying attention, Erza had knelt down so that she was in the space between his legs, which allowed her face to get so close to his.

"Who said that it was your responsibility to protect me?" Erza's tone sounded accusing and stern. Jellal tried to lean away from her closeness only to be reminded that there was a wall behind him. He swallowed nervously as Erza pressed him to answer her question. "Well?"

"I..I just… no one." Jellal stuttered feeling increasingly nervous under the scrutinizing gaze of girl sitting in front of him. He could feel his anxiety peaking again and he wanted to get out from under her gazing eyes. He just wanted to get away at this point, he felt like she was too close to him.

"Then why does it matter?" Erza continued to push the boy. "If it's not your responsibility, then why does this matter to you?"

"Because I love you, damn it!" Jellal said, raising his voice slightly causing Erza to back away slightly. Jellal brought both his hands to cover his eyes as he tried to calm down. He didn't want to tell her this. Jellal felt that anything between them was impossible; to admit his own feelings would give Erza false hope which eventually would be crushed. It would hurt her again. "I love you and I never want to see you hurt. Not like how I hurt you, not again."

He waited. He was waiting for the fallout of what he had said. He expected her to be angry about his feelings towards her. To be upset by his actions, for lying to her. He wouldn't even be surprised if she decided to hit him, in fact he would have welcomed it. But what she did next was not even close to what he expected from the scarlet haired girl.

Erza laughed.

Jellal dropped his hands to look at the girl in confusion. She was sitting back on her heels, still in front of him and laughing with one hand slightly covering her mouth.

"Oh Jellal," Erza said as she let out the last of her giggles. "Did you really think that I didn't know?"

"What?" Jellal said still confused by Erza's response.

"Jellal, you are and always have been a terrible liar." Erza said as a light chuckle came to her lips. "I know that you don't have a fiancé and I know how you feel about me." At this, Jellal could feel his cheeks heating up as blush formed on his face.

"You should know that I feel the same for you." Erza said while looking into Jellal's eyes with a slight smile on her face and blush creeping on to her cheeks. Then her smile faded as she reached out to grab on to the bluenette boy's hands. "But this doesn't explain what is going on here. What are you so afraid of Jellal?"

* * *

"Come on Natsu…" The pink haired boy whispered to himself as he paced. Occasionally he would look at Lucy who had been talking intently with Levy since Erza had left with Jellal. He was anxious, but he didn't know why. This whole thing infuriated him. He wanted to be done and over with it already. _Just talk to her!_ He thought, but it didn't help him muster up his resolve. _What the hell is wrong with me?_

Natsu turned around and started to pace back and forth. He wanted to go over and talk to Lucy like Erza had told him to, but he didn't know what Levy and Lucy were talking about. He didn't want to interrupt the girls and make whatever this was between him and Lucy worse. _This would be so much easier if I could hear what they were talking about._ He felt so lost without his enhanced dragon slayer senses.

"Sucks, huh?" Gajeel said as he leaned up against the wall close to Natsu giving the boy a knowing look. The pinkette turned and gave the other boy a questioning look.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Natsu claimed as he continued pacing.

"Fine, don't talk to me flame breath." Gajeel shrugged and turned to leave Natsu with his thoughts.

"Wait." Natsu called out to the boy. Gajeel snickered and turned back around to face Natsu.

"I don't get it." Natsu said and leaned up against the wall next to Gajeel.

"You're gonna need to be more specific than that, dumbass." Gajeel chuckled, which only cause Natsu growl before voicing a response.

"Something's off with Lucy." Natsu muttered and let his body slide down the wall and sit on the ground. Gajeel lowered himself to a crouching position next to Natsu.

"Is she alright?" Gajeel questioned with a raised brow.

"She smells alright to me. She doesn't smell sick or anything." Natsu claimed. Gajeel inched in closer to Natsu stopping within inches of his face. Natsu raised his eye brow in a questioning look.

"Is she pregnant?" Gajeel whispered.

"Oh fuck off, metal-face!" Natsu shouted. Lucy and Levy stopped their conversation to look at the two dragon slayers as did Juvia, who had claimed a perch near the talking girls. Natsu, who was now red in the face, got up to walk towards the nearest corner of room, growling the whole way there and plopping down on the floor there. Gajeel followed right behind him.

"Look," Gajeel mumbled as he followed the other boy. "I'm just tryin' to cover all the bases before I make any stupid assumptions on what's goin' on."

"What is going on?" Gray said as he approached the two boys.

"None of your business, ice prick." Natsu growled starting to regret that he had said anything to Gajeel at all.

"Salamander's got issues with bunny girl." Gajeel replied quiety.

"Oh, good. I've wanted to know what's been going on with you two for a while now." Gray commented and planted himself on the floor in front of Natsu. Gajeel joined the other two boys on the floor.

"What do you mean for a while now?" Natsu accused the ice mage.

"Cool off flame-brain. You've been a pain in the ass since the guild got back together. You only get that way when Lucy's pissed and refuses to go on missions with you." Gray explained as he crossed his arms over his bare chest.

"I think Lucy's been avoiding me." Natsu said and refused to look Gray or Gajeel in the eye. Gray leaned over to Gajeel and whispered to the iron dragon slayer, "Is she pregnant?"

"Fuck you too snow cone!" Natsu growled and tried to stand up to get away from the two boys.

"Oh get over it, Salamander." Gajeel growled and pushed Natsu so that he was sitting back down. "Now start talkin' so we can help you figure this shit out."

"It's been this way since I found Lucy in Crocus…" Natsu started letting out a sigh.

"Hold on," Gray interrupted. "What do you mean you 'found Lucy in Crocus'?"

"After everything that happened with Tartaros, I decided to go and train for a year. So I grabbed my savings and left. A year later, I went to crash the Grand Magic Games and found Lucy. I kinda expected everyone to be there too, but that was before I found out that Master had disbanded the guild." Natsu explained.

"You left for a year and didn't tell anyone?" Gray asked sounding a little agitated.

"No! I wrote Lucy a note." Natsu defended. Both Gray and Gajeel smacked their palms to their foreheads.

"Salamander, that ain't the kinda thing you tell a girl in a note." Gajeel explained as he pinched the bridge of his nose in agitation.

"What do you mean?" Natsu asked still oblivious to the implied social norm. Gajeel sighed in exasperation. "You explain it, frost breath."

"How the fuck do I…" Gray mumbled before scooting closer to Natsu. "Ugh… Okay pryo, listen closely 'cause I don't want to have to do this more than once."

Natsu nodded and gave Gray all his attention.

"Girls think way too much." Gray stated. Gajeel let out a snort.

"That's how you're gonna explain this?" Gajeel muttered causing Gray to turn to the iron dragon slayer.

"Shut it you tin can, unless you want to have this conversation!" Gray threatened while giving the other boy a slight push. Gajeel waved his hand at Gray motioning him to continue. Gray turned back to Natsu and began again.

"Girls think way too much. When you talk to a girl, you have to tell them exactly what you mean, and you have to explain it all because otherwise they are going to think about it too much. When girls think too much, they don't think all the good stuff. Girls think about the millions of ways that things can go wrong." Gray spoke as straight forward as possible and began moving his hands around to emphasize his words. The entire time Natsu had his eyes locked on to Gray with a serious expression.

"Do ya get it flame brain?" Gajeel asked.

"So Lucy is mad at me because she thinks too much?" Natsu asked as he scratched at the back of his head. Gajeel groaned and rolled his eyes.

"Let's try it this way. What did you tell Lucy in the note?" Gray asked.

"I told her that I was gonna go off and train with Happy, that when I came back I would be way stronger than before and I would be gone for about a year. Then I asked her to take care of everyone." Natsu muttered, remembering how badly he wanted to train. Until he was stronger, he wouldn't be able to sleep at night. He couldn't handle thinking that he wasn't strong enough to protect the guild, his family, to protect Lucy.

"Did you tell her why you went to go train?" Gray questioned. He hoped that he could lead the pink-haired boy to where he made his mistake.

"No… but everyone knows that you train to get stronger!"

"And did you explain why you didn't invite her to come with you?"

"Well… no." Natsu mumbled.

"What do you think Lucy thought about you going to train without her?" Gray asked. He had a feeling that he was getting somewhere with Natsu.

"That I was doing what was best for her and for everyone." Natsu stated, but his voice faltered a bit. Maybe that wasn't what Lucy thought.

"Look pinky, Lucy didn't think ya were lookin' out for her. Knowin' how girls think, she probably thought ya didn't trust her or ya blamed her for somethin'." Gajeel growled as he grabbed on to Natsu's shirt to pull the boy closer. "'Specially 'cause all us dragon slayers lost our parents, again, that day."

Natsu's eyes grew wide and his mouth fell open slightly as if it all suddenly clicked.

"Now ya get it." Gajeel sneered and pushed Natsu so that his back hit the wall roughly.

"Fuck… Lucy hates me." Natsu mumbled.

"Maybe." Gray commented casually.

"What the hell do you mean maybe?" Natsu said with slight panic in his voice. "She thinks I don't like her and that I just left her because I didn't want to be partners anymore."

"And, you know all this worrying that you've been doing about something being wrong with Lucy," Gray added. The two dark haired boys waited until Natsu acknowledged them before continuing.

"Ya left Lucy to do the same fuckin' thing for a year, dumbass." Gajeel growled.

"Fuck." Natsu said and smacked his head with his hand.

"Yup," Gray said.

"I fucked up."

"Mmhumm" Gajeel grunted and nodded.

"Lucy really fucking hates me. I am so fucking stupid." Natsu said in a frustrated sigh. He grabbed his head and pulled at his hair.

"Well, you don't know that for sure." Gray commented.

"What the fuck is that s'posed to mean?" Natsu yelled getting into Gray's face. The three boys realized how loud Natsu's outburst had been and peeked over at the girls, who had stopped their own discussion to glance at the boys. The two groups stared at each other for a moment before Gray grabbed Natsu by the shirt.

"Look lava breath, the only person who knows what the hell is in Lucy's head is Lucy. She's the only who knows how she feels about you." Gray said in a harsh whisper and pushed Natsu out of his personal space.

"Well, she ain't the only one." Gajeel said with smug grin. Gray gave the iron dragon slayer an odd look and Natsu jumped up and grabbed on to Gajeel's shoulders.

"Who else knows?" Natsu asked while he shook the boy as if his life depended on Gajeel's answer. Gajeel just laughed at how desperate Natsu's actions had become.

"Gihihi, the one person bunny girl tells everything, Levy."

* * *

 _"_ _What are you so afraid of Jellal?"_

The question seemed to echo off the walls long after the words left her mouth, enough so that even Erza began to look around the room as if she could see the words as they rebounded off each surface. Jellal didn't know what to say, was there a right thing to say? Then Erza looked back at Jellal and her face softened, her eyes looking directly into Jellal's with a kind of reserved sadness.

"How do you do it?" Jellal asked which earned him a look of confusion from the girl. "How can you be so brave? With everything that you have gone through, how do you do it?"

There was a long pause between them before Erza answered.

"You know, for a long time I thought that I would never be able to be happy or fall in love…" Erza started with a soft voice. "After everything that I had been through, being brought to the Tower of Heaven… losing my eye… losing Grandpa Rob… after losing you…"

Erza shifted so that she sat comfortably between Jellal's legs. He had spread his legs to allow her the room as she took the time to adjust her blue skirt and pull at her yellow top. It was at this point he remembered that they were kids again. They were older than they had been at the Tower of Heaven, old enough that Jellal could see Erza's curves just beginning to be noticeable.

"But I had time… I was able to come to terms with a lot of what happened. I was able to be a child, at least for a little while… I was given a chance to belong… to be a part of a family." Erza explained as one hand went to the guild emblem on her arm.

"After you were arrested by the Council, I was struck with the saddest realization and I think it's time that you realized it too." Erza said as she grabbed Jellal's hand in her free hand and entwined their fingers. Jellal allowed his gaze to fall onto their entwined fingers. "You were alone. You had no where to belong and no one to support you… You always talk about the pain that you caused. What about the pain that was caused to you? What about your pain?"

Jellal looked back up at Erza, and when he spoke it was with a hesitant voice. "My pain?"

"Yes, your pain." Erza said softly as she began to rub soothing circles on Jellal's hand. "You were under Ultear's control. You were doing her bidding. You weren't allowed to get past everything that happened before: the beatings and the torture… and you never talked about how Ultear treated you." When Erza mentioned Ultear, Jellel visibly shuddered and closed his eyes. This reaction caused Erza to hesitate before she asked the next question. "Did she do something to you?"

"I didn't want to… I just… there was nothing I could do to stop it…" Jellal said before using his free hand to hide his face in his shirt in shame. "I couldn't do anything. I was so helpless."

Erza could feel her heart begin to hurt for him and she tried to comfort him. "Jellal, you were a child—"

"I was only a child!" Jellal snapped back as he lowered his shirt from his face. Erza could see that he had tears in his eyes. "All of us! We were just children. How could anyone do what they did to us? I was so angry. I just wanted to make them stop. I was so helpless." Erza was taken aback by the sudden emotion that Jellal was letting out, but she tried not to show it. Instead, she let him continue as she wondered if he had ever said these things to another living being.

"I swore that as long as I breathe, I will do everything I can to keep the same thing from happening to another child. That's why I can't do this," Jellal claimed as the anger faded to reserved sadness and silence slowly began to take over the room.

"Do what?" Erza asked in a quiet voice.

"I can't let myself love you." Jellal replied as his grip on their entwined hands loosened, but did not separate. "I want to be with you Erza, to belong to you, to be a part of your family, but there is nothing I would be able to do to prevent this. I can't promise your safety. I can't promise safety for our family. I am already so afraid for your well-being, I just can't do it." Jellal waved his hand towards the adult Erza, who was now holding on to her sleeping daughter. The small girl occasionally shuddered in her sleep from having cried too hard for too long.

"Just the thought that a child, our child, is being hurt because of me, it's tearing me apart. I'm weak and I am a coward. I'm sorry, but I can't do it." Jellal cried as he let go of Erza's hand and brought both of his own to cover his eyes as the tears took over again.

"Jellal Fernandez, stop hiding your face and look at me!" Erza spoke with a commanding voice that both sent shivers down Jellal's spine and brought a halt to his tears as he lowered his hands to look at Erza. She took the opportunity of his shock to lean forward and hold his face in her hands.

"You listen to me right now. There is nothing that anyone could have done to prevent what happened to us. It is not your responsibility to prevent all the evil in the world, and any expectation that it is your responsibility is insane." Erza took a deep breath and her ferocity dissolved returning her back into the comforting girl. "Stopping the evil in the world won't fix what has happened. By trying, you are wasting the time that you could be using to rebuild yourself. Please stop living in the past, choose to live for now."

"But what if you get hurt because of me? What if someone comes after you to try to get to me?" Jellal asked in a quiet voice.

"They already have…" Erza replied causing Jellal to recoil.

"W-what?"

"Tartaros… In order to activate FACE, they needed to kill members of the council that acted as magical keys, preventing it from being used as a weapon against the council." Erza explained. She could see the confusion building in his eyes. "But the keys, they were also in previous council members. You were one of the keys that they needed."

"Me?" Jellal replied. Erza nodded before she continued her explanation.

"Mira and I were tricked, captured. The demon, Kyoka, she believed that I knew where you were and she…" Erza paused slightly and looked away from Jellal. "She was willing to do whatever it took to find your location." At that moment, Jellal pulled Erza into crushing hug. Erza clung to him holding him close to her with one hand in his hair.

"I am so sorry. I am so sorry." He whispered as a sad kind of mantra.

"Jellal, you are missing the point." Erza said as she pulled away slightly, but still allowing for them to remain in each other's arms.

"There will always be someone that will come after us, Jellal. You can't prevent it from happening. All we can do is deal with it when it comes… and live our lives in between the moments of chaos." Jellal looked into her eyes as she spoke and came to the conclusion that he always came to.

"You're right." He admitted with a sniffled as he pulled her back into tight hug, and then he added with a smirk. "You are always right."

BAM!

The unexpected sound made the two children jump. The door to the room burst open and a distinct figure followed soon after. Man was facing away from the children and looking at the adult Erza as her arms remained encircled around her child. Both children know who the man was without seeing his face, just by the look of his messy blue hair and the sound of his voice as he called out to the woman. "Erza."

The two children watched as the adult Jellal ran to kneel in front of Erza and the child. He quickly cut her bonds as he spoke. "I'm sorry it took so long, I got here as soon as I heard. Are you alright? Is Scarlet alright?"

"Shh…" Erza said as she pressed a finger against his lips with one hand, while the other moved to better support her little girl. "We have some injuries, but nothing that won't heal."

"Oh thank—" Jellal was cut off by Erza pulling him in for an intense kiss. The kiss was broken far too soon by the sound on an explosion nearby.

"Your team has a tendency to overdo everything, don't they?" The man said with amusement in his voice as Erza giggled lightly in response.

"Let's get the two of you out of here," Jellal said as he took his child in his arms and assisted his wife to stand. He never let go of Erza's hand as the three made their way out of the prison.

The two children watched as the small family left, and Jellal couldn't help but see the happiness on the man's face. He was happy, not because things were perfect, but because he had all he needed and that was enough. It was such an odd look that he had a hard time believing that he and that man were actually the same person.

As the couple left the prison, Jellal turned his attention back to Erza. She had a smile on her face from watching the small family as well, and it made Jellal happy. Erza turned to look at him and that was when both of them realized just how close they were to each other. Jellal was still sitting with his back pressed up against the wall. He was holding on to Erza with one hand resting on Erza's lower back and the other resting between her should blades. He could feel Erza's body pressed up against his own and their faces were only a few inches apart. She had one hand lightly playing with the hair that brushed his neck. Erza's other hand came up to Jellal's face, lightly touching just above his right eye.

"Your tattoo, it has filled in again." Erza said in a soft voice.

"I guess that means that it's over." Jellal replied, suddenly stuck in stupor of how intimate he an Erza were behaving.

"Yes, I believe so…" Erza replied as she let her hand cup his cheek.

"We have been gone from the others for quite a long time…" Jellal said as moved the hand between her shoulder blades to cup Erza's cheek. Erza nodded her head slowly.

"They are probably beginning to worry." Erza commented quietly.

"We should get back to them." Jellal mumbled, and although his words spoke of leaving this place, his actions showed just how much he wanted this girl to stay in his arms.

"I need you to promise me something, Jellal." Erza said quietly.

"Anything." Jellal replied without hesitation.

"That you will still be there when we wake up." Erza said before resting her forehead against Jellal's forehead and closing her eyes.

"I promise I will be there when we wake up." Jellal replied. Erza gave a deep sigh before untangling herself from Jellal and standing up. Then she held out her hand to Jellal to pull him up.

"Then let's go back to the real world." Erza said as Jellal took her hand and stood up.

* * *

Levy was certain that she knew a lot of things. She was a lover of learning about everything and anything, and a person didn't read as much as Levy did (and in as many languages as Levy could) without knowing things. But Levy knew about things other than what she read in her books. She was good at reading people too and for someone who grew up in a guild like Fairy Tail, she learned a lot about how to read people. For instance, she knows for a fact that Natsu cares about Lucy as more than just his partner. Levy knows that Gray thinks of Juvia as more than just a guild mate, but Levy also knows that he doesn't like to show emotion at all. Levy knew that despite the front that Erza always maintained in the presence of others, she hurts so deeply from things that she doesn't like to discuss; although Levy suspects that it may have a lot to do with a certain blue haired heavenly body mage that Erza likes to pretend doesn't occupy her thoughts constantly.

Levy could even list the things that she doesn't know. Levy doesn't know why Juvia talks in third person all the time. She doesn't know how Freed could wear such formal clothing all the time, even in the summer when it could be unbearably hot. Levy doesn't know when she fell in love with the metal studded brute that nailed her and her team to a tree. Levy doesn't know how she gets so wrapped up in her books that it seems like time doesn't exist at all. There was a lot Levy doesn't know…

When it came to trying to solve problems, Levy liked to organize her thoughts on what she did know and what she didn't know, like with her current situation. She knew that she looked like she did when she was a child, maybe 10 or 12 years old, but she doesn't know why she looks like that. She knows that she is dreaming and that she is sharing this dream with her friends and guild mates, but she doesn't know why they are dreaming. Levy knows that there is a barrier that separates this broken, stone antechamber from an area where the nightmares take over, but she doesn't know how that separation happens. There is a lot about this dream space that she doesn't understand, but that is not what was bothering her at the moment.

Levy knew what she was afraid of, and she knew that soon she would have to face that fear. She also knew that someone would have to come with her and if they did, then they would know what she was afraid of too. That was what was causing her terrible anxiety at the moment.

It wasn't the fear that was really getting to her. Being so much smaller in stature gave her plenty of reasons to be afraid of things and people that were so much bigger and stronger than her. Fear was something that she knew that she could handle. In the moment, the adrenaline always took over and she was always able to do what needed to be done. The thing that she hated was the anticipation, the time before the action, the calm before the storm. Levy wished above all else that she could just go and get this whole process done with because now all she could do was wait. And, being the smart girl that she was, time to wait meant that there was time to think. The more that she thought about what was waiting down the hallway for her, the more anxious she got, even if she knew what would be waiting for her.

"You aren't listening, are you?" Lucy's voice brought Levy out of her train of thought. Lucy and Levy had been sitting together talking since Levy and Gajeel had returned from their visit down the nightmare inducing hallway. Levy didn't mind talking with Lucy, but Levy was becoming unsettled by the fact that soon she would have to take her own journey down the hall.

"I'm sorry, Lu-chan." Levy said focusing on her friend again. "I didn't mean to zone out on you."

"It's okay," Lucy replied and gave the small blue haired girl a soft smile. "What's going on in that big brain of yours?"

"I'm just worried about this whole thing. We don't know if facing our fears will even get us out of here. There is so much that I don't know about this thing." Levy said with a sigh. "I wish that I could be in the guild's library right now, doing something other than just waiting."

"I know what you mean." Lucy started with a hint of worry in her voice. "I wish that we knew what was going on. It would make me feel so much better than just facing the unknown."

"We'll get out of here, we have been in tougher spots than this one," Levy said trying to sound encouraging.

"I guess I'm just getting nervous. It seems like Erza and Jellal have been gone for a long time now." Lucy said and took a look at the ominous looking hallway.

"They'll be okay. Remember this is Erza we're talking about. If anything the nightmares should be afraid of her." Levy said with a slight giggle.

"Yeah, you're probably right." Lucy said with a slight smile.

"What are you so worried about?" Levy asked. The girl figured that if she could focus on Lucy's anxiety that she would forget about her own.

"Oh nothing really…" Lucy said looking away from friend and towards the others in their group. Gray was sitting down next to Juvia. The two had been silent for a while, though they had been talking quietly not long ago. Natsu was pacing by himself and Gajeel looked like he was walking over to talk to the pink haired boy.

"This is about Natsu, isn't it?" Levy said with a slight giggle. "You can't keep avoiding him forever."

"I can try!" Lucy said embodying her fiery attitude and stubbornness.

"Lu-chan, you know that this could be a great opportunity to explain how you feel." Levy said.

"I don't know how I feel, Levy." Lucy whined.

"Oh fuck off, metal-face!" Lucy and Levy turned towards the sound of Natsu's sudden outburst. Gajeel was indeed over talking with him, and apparently Natsu didn't like whatever it was Gajeel had said. Natsu stormed off away from the iron dragon slayer.

"I wonder what that was about." Lucy said as she watched the child Natsu walking towards a corner of the room.

"In all likelihood, it's nothing all that important… and don't try to change the subject." Levy said with a smirk.

"I don't know how I feel," Lucy said with a slight huff and turned to look at Natsu who was now talking in the corner with Gajeel as Gray took a seat next to them. When she realized she had been staring at the boys, she looked back at Levy who was still sporting a smirk. "What?"

"Don't play dumb, you know what." Levy said teasingly.

"But we've talked about this before, Levy. I don't think Natsu is even capable of having romantic feelings for anyone, and certainly not for me." Lucy said with a hint of sadness in her voice as she looked down at her shoes. "He clearly didn't think I was important enough to take with him last year."

"You don't know that, he could have had another reason for not bringing you with him." Levy said trying to comfort her friend. "And besides, Natsu treats you different than anyone else in the guild, you just don't see it because you didn't know him before. I mean, he can be a little obtuse when it comes to romance and love but—"

"What the fuck is that s'posed to mean?" Natsu yelled. Both Lucy and Levy looked over to see Natsu getting in Gray's face before all three boys paused and turned to look directly at the girls. Juvia let out a giggle at the scene that was unfolding as Gray grabbed Natsu by the shirt.

"You don't think that Natsu and Gajeel can hear us, do you?" Lucy asked nervously.

"I'm pretty sure that they can't use their special senses here." Levy replied with a lowered voice. As the boys returned their attention to Natsu, Levy and Lucy turned back to each other.

"Anyway, I guess what I am trying to say is that you should give Natsu a chance. He doesn't understand that the way he cares for you requires that he act differently." Levy said, practically pleading with Lucy, though she continued to speak in her lowered voice.

"I just don't my heart can take another hit right now…" Lucy said in a soft voice, again looking down at her shoes. Levy scooted over to sit closer to Lucy and gently placed Lucy's head on her shoulder. Lucy let her head rest there as Levy started to rub her back to comfort the blonde girl.

"I don't think that Natsu would ever hurt you on purpose." Levy said. "I am sure that if you talked to him about it, he would understand that he hurt you. Then you guys can work towards being close again. I know you'll feel better after you talk."

"Yeah, I think you're right… I just don't know what to say." Lucy said with a sigh.

"I'm sure you'll figure it out Lu," Levy said as a smile came to her face.

"Hey Levy?" Lucy said in a slightly questioning voice.

"Yeah?" Levy replied.

"Is that really what Gray, Natsu, and Erza looked like as kids?" The question caused both of the girls to erupt into giggles.

And although Levy tried to keep her mind on the topic of what everyone was like as kids, her anxiety kept coming back to what waited for her down that hallway.

* * *

 **I am so late this week and I'm sorry. We had a busy few days here and I didn't get a chance to get to my computer.**

 **There was a guest reviewer who mentioned giving false hope when it comes to Gray and Juvia and asking "What if Juvia gets Dementia?" I wanted to clear this up for you guys.((~ This is a mini health/medical lesson, so if you don't care to read it, that's fine.~))**

 **~Dementia is a degenerative (meaning that it progressively gets worse over time) disease that affects the mental capacities of the person. This usually affects older individuals, with early onset of such things being in the late 50s. Usually it starts with difficulty remembering how to do simple tasks or remembering names and worsens to the person not being able to remember where you are, what year it is, or how old you are. This can continue to affect areas of the brain to the point where it can affect speech (as in people forget how to speak a language). However in most cases, dementia does not result in catatonic states. In fact, one of the most dangerous parts of dementia is that people forget that they need help with daily tasks like dressing and eating, so they often end up falling and dying from the resulting injuries or end up hurt in other ways. This is not what I was trying to depict as affecting Juvia's mother.**

 **A catatonic state is where a person is alive and awake, but are unresponsive to anything going on around them. It's like the saying "the lights are on, but no one is home". Catatonic states are seen in two specific psychiatric disorders: major depressive disorder (also know simply as depression), or a specific type of schizophrenia. In schizophrenia, the person affected will slip into a catatonic state in the middle of whatever they are doing and stay there. This can happen at any time and can last from a few minutes to hours at a time. Then the person will come out of their catatonic state and continue on as if nothing had ever happened. Obviously the dangers of this are similar to seizures or narcolepsy (falling asleep randomly), and these people often need people to live with them in case of catatonic episodes. This is also not what I was trying to depict as affecting Juvia's mother.**

 **Severe cases of depression can cause people to become catatonic. In untreated depression, the person becomes so preoccupied with their dark thoughts and feelings that they can't function. In less severe cases, this manifests as feeling the need to sleep all the time, fatigue, and disinterest in things that the person previously took great joy in. If these people don't receive treatment, then it can progress to catatonic states. For those that continue to not receive treatment, their outlook is not good. Those people usually end up starving themselves or die in their sleep, though it's not completely understood why they die in their sleep. This is what I wanted to depict as affecting Juvia's mother.**

 **Severe cases of depression like described above, does have a genetic link. Many of those with severe depression have parents/siblings with depression. Again they aren't sure why, but it does happen.**

 **I decided to depict Juvia's mother as having depression because we already know that Juvia has a tendency towards depression, or what she calls 'the rain'. The major example is when Gray left Juvia to go deal with Avatar, and Natsu and Lucy found her depressed and in the middle of a giant rain storm.~**

 **I hope that helps clear things up.**

 **As always, a big thanks to those that have followed, favorited, and reviewed. Please continue to review to let me know what you think or if you have questions.**

 **Thanks again!**


	14. Chapter 14

_"To go beyond is as wrong as to fall short." Confucius_

It has been two days and two nights since Mira found her guild mates passed out in the library.

After they found out that Juvia and Jellal were in the same situation, Mira made sure to find the two as quickly (and in Jellal's case, discretely) as possible. It wasn't hard to find their sleeping forms in the exact places they had described. Juvia looked like she had been putting away some flour because she was found sleeping on her stomach on top of a mess of white powder. She had appeared unharmed by the fall, and as Elfman picked her up to move her into the infirmary she gave a dreamy sigh of "Gray-sama". Jellal looked far less restful as he slept. His brow would frequently furrow together as if he was concerned or upset by something.

It was later that first day that Meredy came by the guild hall looking for him. She explained that he had intended on meeting with Erza. Meredy explained that he usually checks Fairy Hills first, and then comes to see if she is at the guild hall after that. She and the rest of Crime Sorciere became worried when he didn't meet back with them by noon. Mira assured her of his safety while they attempted to learn what caused their dreaming sickness. Cana agreed to make a calling card for Meredy so that they could let her know when he was awake again.

Once the infirmary beds were filled with the eight sleeping mages, Mira thought that the difficult part was over, but that was when the trouble started. Mira had left Wendy to monitor their guild mates with the help of Happy, Carla, and Lily. Also joining the young dragon slayer in the infirmary were Jet and Droy who were fawning over Levy's sleeping form, and Romeo, who was mostly helping keep Wendy company as she watched over her patients. Mira left the small group to monitor things; she needed to return to the bar and manage the guild hall. It was just after 1:00 pm when Lily had flown down the stairs calling for her.

"What's going on Lily?" Mira asked with concern in her voice.

"It's Juvia." He said simply and Mira looked worriedly down the bar.

"It's okay Mira-nee," Lisanna said as she stepped behind the bar. "You go take care of them. I can take over down here." With the reassurance that everything would be taken care of, Mira hurried quickly up to the infirmary with Lily.

"What happened?" Mira asked as she followed Lily to the infirmary.

"We aren't really sure." The black exceed claimed as he flew with the bar maid. "Everything seemed quiet and then all of a sudden…" Lily didn't get a chance to finish his sentence as they were overwhelmed with the sound of hysterical crying. When they entered the infirmary, they were greeted with a strange sight. Juvia thrashing about in her bed, Jet and Droy were attempting to hold her down while Wendy was trying to get close enough to examine her. Romeo, Happy, and Carla were standing off to the side completely drenched and dripping water.

"Can't you do anything about this, Wendy?" Jet shouted as he struggled to hold Juvia down.

"I'm trying, but I can't figure out what's wrong with her. She's moving around too much!" Wendy cried out in frustration.

"What happened?" Mira said trying to take lead during the commotion.

"Everything was fine, but then Juvia just started crying and thrashing about. I tried to figure out what was wrong when this happened." Romeo stated motioning to he's water-logged state.

"They can't get her to hold still so that Wendy can figure out what's wrong and Wendy cannot figure out what's wrong if she is so frantic." Carla explained with her arms crossed, looking about as happy as a cat that had just had a bath.

"Jet, Droy, let go of her." Mira said as she rushed over. The boys backed off, each of them only half soaked, and Wendy let Mira get close to the water mage. Mira sat on Juvia's bed and reach over to touch the water mage. She removed Juvia's hat and began to run her hands across Juvia's forehead and hair.

"It's okay Juvia, it's just a bad dream. Shh, it's okay." Mira spoke softly trying to sooth the sleeping mage. At Mira's touch, Juvia turned to grab the skirt of Mira's dress to pull her closer. Juvia quivered in her sleep.

"No… no… mom…" Juvia mumbled as tears fell from her eyes and she gripped on to Mira like a life-vest.

"Its okay, Juvia. You're safe, I'm right here." Mira cooed as she continued her gentle touches. Slowly, Juvia began to relax just a little more. She continued to shake and cry in her sleep, but she was no longer thrashing or drenching anyone in the room. "Okay Wendy, check to make sure that everything is okay with her."

Wendy held out her hands, trying to find anything that was wrong with Juvia. She shook her head after a few minutes. "There's nothing physically wrong with her."

"She's just frightened." Mira said, continuing to brush Juvia's hair softly.

"How did you know how to do that, Mira?" Wendy asked in amazement.

"Well after Lisanna had disappeared, something similar would happen to Natsu." Mira said with sadness in her voice. "He was inconsolable while he was asleep. He would often set things on fire in his sleep without meaning to. Porlyusica called them night terrors. Sometimes he would wake up still screaming, crying, and shaking. Other nights he would thrash about in his sleep until he would wake up. More often than not, I had to shake him until he opened his eyes."

Mira's voice seemed to get quieter the longer she spoke, and yet her words sounded just as clear as if she were speaking through a lacrima speaker. She was looking off in the distance as if she were reliving a memory instead of sitting on the bed running her hands through Juvia's hair as the water mage whimpered in her sleep. Then Mira's head turned sharply to all present in the room.

"But right now they can't wake up. There is no way to wake them up right now. All we can do is wait… perhaps when Freed gets here and we know more then we can wake them…" Mira said with a sad sort of sternness to her voice before turning directly to Wendy. "The best thing to do for them is to comfort them when they begin to panic. Even when they sleep, they can feel the comfort we offer them."

Wendy nodded and hurried to Juvia's side. The young dragon slayer began to hum a little melody as she rubbed Juvia's arms while trying to sooth the woman's fears. Mira gave a smile and let Wendy take over attempting to calm her patient. Mira then stood and turned to look at the others in the room.

"I don't want them to be alone while they sleep. I will get volunteers and set up a schedule for them to be observed. In the mean-time, it might be a good idea to get personal items for them; something that may bring them some small kind of comfort." Mira said as she addressed the room.

"I believe I know just the thing that would be able to calm Gajeel. It will not take me long to retrieve it." Pantherlily said with a smirk on his lips.

"I will likely take Lisanna and go to Fairy Hills to get something from the girl's dorms. I am sure we will be able to find something for each of them." Mira said with a smile. "Happy, could you go to Lucy's apartment and get something that she could sleep with?"

"Aye, sir!" Happy said with a salute before he flew out of the window of the infirmary to get straight to his task.

Everyone followed suit with their tasks to bring their guild mates some form of comfort. Patherlily was one of the first to return with a treasured item belonging to Gajeel. The exceed slipped a black bandana into the iron dragon's hand while he slept. He seemed pleased with himself and offered his assistance to Wendy while the others returned. Happy was soon to follow as he flew over to Lucy and dropped her pink comforter over her sleeping form. Lucy mumbled in her sleep as if she was saying "thank you" and curled into the fluffy blanket. Wendy also made sure that Lucy's keys stayed by her side, slightly tucked underneath the girl's pillow. Jet and Droy had returned from tracking down Gray's home. The only item that they had to show for their efforts was a simple knit scarf. Both men admitted that Gray was really quite private and that the only real reason they brought the scarf was that it was the only item of clothing that sat folded neatly next to his pillow. The scarf was placed next to Gray in the same way they had found it: folded and neat. The boys also admitted that they didn't know what kind of item Natsu would want, but were reminded by Happy that Natsu's scarf remained securely around his neck.

Mira and Lisanna returned a few hours later with their hands filled with treasures belonging to the girls. Mira carried large doll, larger than Happy, that Juvia had made in Gray's likeness. When the doll was given to Juvia, she wrapped her arms tightly around it and appeared to have calmed almost immediately without needing Wendy to continue her efforts to calm the woman. Lisanna made her way over to Levy, who had curled onto her side with one hand under her pillow. Lisanna smirked and placed a very worn leather bound book into the script mage's hand that was tucked under her pillow. Levy immediately grasped the book as if her life depended on it. From Erza's apartment, the sisters had brought a simple stuffed teddy bear that had been found on top of the woman's bed.

Jellal was more difficult to find something for. Mira thought long and hard about what item he could possibly want, and it was not like he had a residence that could be scoured for an item of personal value. After considering her options, Mira finally reached out to contact Meredy for an answer. Meredy came to the guild quickly following Mira's call, and met with the barmaid to discuss the issue.

"I can't think of anything that would help calm Jellal, but you have travelled with him for years now, surely you know what can keep him calm." Mira said to the young pinkette that hid her face under her cloak.

"Well there isn't really a _thing_ that helps to calm him down." Meredy said with a giggle and before Mira could pout in disappointment, Meredy continued. "I have only ever seen Jellal be soothed by one thing: Erza."

Mira felt no guilt for her actions after hearing that tidbit of information from the sensory link mage, though she did need to reassure Lily that she would take all the blame before he would help her with her tiny match-making scheme.

"If she asks me anything, I will tell her that it was your idea." He said as he transformed into his battle form and picked up the sleeping requip mage.

"Of course, I will take 100% responsibility. Erza will never know you were involved." Mira replied with that angelic smile that never hinted that the woman held a demonic soul in her body, let alone several. Lily simply raised an eyebrow as he lowered Erza into Jellal's bed, positioning the two so that they faced each other. The sight caused the she-demon to give a shriek of glee and causing Wendy to form a small blush and giggle.

It was late by the time everyone had been settled with their precious belongings. Mira had told Wendy to go home with the promise that she would have someone watch her patients overnight. Mira was also insistent that Happy go home as well, fearing that a panic attack in the middle of the night would frighten the young exceed. Pantherlily offered to watch over Happy for the night and assured the bar maid that he would make sure Wendy got some rest as well. Mira had bribed Cana to watch the mages during the first night. Her reward for her effort would be as much alcohol has she could consume during the night. With a bribe like that, how could she refuse?

It wasn't until morning when things began to feel like they were really out of control. Mira was upset that Cana had left the room for any time at all. Mira had Warren go to find another volunteer for the night. She didn't want the same thing to happen to someone else. She spent some time cleaning the cut on Levy's face, feeling guilty that the small mage ended up hurt. But what worried her the most was the possibility that the dream had hurt her. How could Mira protect them against their dreams?

The only thing that she knew for sure was that the sooner Freed got here the better. They needed to figure out what this spell was and how to get their friends out of it.

It wasn't long before Wendy came back to the guild with Happy and Carla right behind her. When Mira asked about Pantherlily, Wendy said he wanted to take the next night watch and stayed to get some more sleep. Mira explained what had happened with Levy, and Wendy was able to heal the cut without much trouble. Mira sent Lisanna up to the infirmary when she arrived at the guild, so that Mira could go back and manage the bar. At first things seemed to be going well, until Mira noticed frost forming on the walls and banisters of the guild hall. It didn't take much to realize that it must be due to their resident ice mage.

"Mira!" The woman heard her name being called by her sister. Mira leaned up against the bar, put her head in her hands and let out a deep and frustrated sigh before straightening up and heading up to the infirmary. Just like she had suspected, the infirmary was almost completely covered in frost. The most of the ice seemed to be building up around Gray's bed.

"It's Gray!" Lisanna said as soon as Mira came through the door. Wendy came up quickly behind her, shivering slightly. Carla followed close behind attempting to keep the girl's legs as warm as possible.

"It's starting to spread to down stairs too." Mira said as she began to rub her arms trying to get some warmth.

"Mira-san, we can't let everyone be this cold for too long. They could get really hurt." Wendy said through shivers.

"It's okay, I've got an idea." Mira said and sent Lisanna down stairs to get Macao and Romeo. When Lisanna had returned with the two fire mages, Mira and Wendy had gathered as many blankets as they could. Romeo set to work heating up the infirmary blankets while Macao began to build up a decent magical fire.

"Now you're sure that this fire won't burn anything, right?" Mira asked the older fire mage.

"It won't hurt a thing," Macao reassured with smile as he held out the orange flame in the palm of his hand. "With enough control you can get fire to do exactly what you need it to. The only thing this flame will do is produce heat."

Wendy set to work right away once Macao's flame was strong enough. While being as gentle as possible, Wendy started off a slow moving wind just above the flames. The result of her gentle breeze moved the heat across the room and over the sleeping mages.

"It worked Mira-san!" Wendy squealed in excitement. The room already felt much warmer and some of the ice appeared to be receding from the walls of the infirmary. Mira felt herself let go of a breath she didn't realize she was holding.

"Good," Mira said quietly with a nod. "Make sure that they get warmed up with the blankets. As long as Gray is making ice, it will keep getting colder. Let me know if things get worse."

The relief from the cold couldn't have come any sooner. As it was, Lucy, Levy, and Juvia were already shivering by the time Lisanna had passed the warm blankets around. Gajeel appeared disgruntled by the change in temperature, but not nearly as bothered by it as the girls. Jellal had turned away from Erza, who had moved closer the heavenly body mage. Her body had curled up against his with an arm draped around his body and resting against his stomach. No one thought that Jellal minded, especially since his arm was lying on top of Erza's, and his hand and fingers entwined in hers as best they could. Just the sight of the two made the Strauss sisters giggle. Natsu seemed not to notice the change in temperature at all, which was only to be expected with his naturally higher body temperature. Gray of course looked as though he were overheating. There was sweat on his brow and occasionally he would shake and quiver. Wendy was diligently watching over him while keeping the warm air current moving about the room and trying to stay warm herself.

Pantherlily, Reedus, and Elfman arrived for their night shift just as the frost receded and the sleeping mages seemed to relax slightly, no longer experiencing discomfort from the extreme cold. Wendy was sent home for the night completely exhausted with Carla and Happy following right behind her. Mira had long since dismissed her sister saying that someone would have to handle the bar in the morning. She also sent the Conbolt boys home as soon as the frost had gone. The father and son were tired from the constant need for their magic during the day. Then finally with reassurance from Pantherlily and her brother, Mira allowed herself to go home. It was evident that the stress from the situation was taking a toll on her. She could only hope that when morning came, good news would come with it.

Mira pulled herself out of bed that morning feeling as though she had barely gotten any sleep. She was not her usual chipper self, and had her first cup of coffee before she left for guild. Her exhausted mind was far too focused on the sleeping mages to focus on much of anything else. She made sure to grab her second cup of coffee before going up to the infirmary to get an update on what had happened during the night.

She wasn't sure what she thought she would see when she made it to the infirmary. Perhaps she imagined scorched walls, maybe more evidence of ice hanging from the ceiling, or maybe even a crowd of celestial spirits or an assortment of weapons imbedded around the room. Whatever she had expected, this wasn't it.

A small table had been moved up to the infirmary and sitting at the table was Patherlily and Elfman. The two were playing some kind of card game, and appeared to be very concentrated on the hand they were playing. At the same time, Reedus was sitting closer towards the sleeping mages with his art supplies, focused on the developing image in front of him. Mira took a second glance around the room just to make sure that things were really as calm as they seemed. Nothing was on fire. Nothing was shattered or broken. Nothing had weapons embedded in it. Everything looked calm…

Patherlily was the first to break the silence. "Ah, Mira, is it morning already?" The exceed yawned and stretched his muscles.

"Mira-nee," Elfman said as he got up and greeted his sister. "We kept them safe, like real men!"

Mira gave a small giggle at her brother before asking how the night went. As she asked if anything interesting happened, Reedus picked up his chair and made his way over to join Patherlily and Elfman.

"Oh it was indeed an exciting night." Pantherlily said as he jumped up to sit on the table.

"Oh?" Mira asked as she waited for the horror story to unfold.

"Yes," Pantherlily started with a nod. "Are you aware that Gray walks in his sleep?"

"Like a real man!"

"Oui." Elfman and Reedus added on. Mira covered her mouth to cover up her laughter. "Oh no."

"Oh yes." Pantherlily continued with his arms folded across his chest. "He got up several times during the night. Each time he got up we put him back in bed. Somehow, he ended up losing more clothing every time he got up out of bed."

"We strapped him into his bed, like a real man!" Elfman added on. Mira looked behind the trio to find that indeed, Gray was strapped to the bed. A canvas strap rested against his chest holding him to the infirmary mattress. A buckle was visible along the side of the bed. It was simple enough that anyone could undo it, unless of course they were asleep.

"Oui." Reedus said with a smile that told Mira that he was pleased with the solution.

"Oh my!" Mira said as a smile became stuck on her face. "Was that the only thing that happened?"

"Oh no. For most of the night Erza was requiping into different clothes."Pantherlily said and a mischievous smile crept on to his face. "Some of her outfits really are quite… unique?"

"Oui." Reedus commented while wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. Elfman added on with gusto, "Like a _real_ man."

"Not to worry, she is decent now." Pantherlily said as he flew to the bed Erza and Jellal shared. He gently lifted the blanket to show Erza dressed in a button up pajama top and matching shorts. "It has been at least two hours since she last requipped. I feel safe making the assumption that her dream has ended."

Lily was about to replace the blanket when Mira noticed something odd. "Lily, what happened to Jellal's clothes?"

Lily raised an eyebrow as he looked down at the sleeping mage, who was no longer in his skin tight shirt and traveling pants, but was instead in some light blue striped pajama bottoms and a white shirt. "Ah, yes, at an intense moment during Erza's dream, Jellal vomited. We got him cleaned up and Reedus was able to conjure some appropriate clothing for him. It was not a pretty sight."

"It was manly," Elfman added on. Reedus pointed to a bag beside Jellal and Erza's bed, which Mira assumed held the man's soiled clothing. "Oui!"

Mira placed her head in her free hand as she made a mental note to make sure that someone washed the vomit covered clothes. She took a long drink of her coffee and released a heavy sigh before looking up and asking, "Anything else that I should know about?"

"Ah, yes." Pantherlily added as he flew back towards the table and picked up the hand of cards he had been playing. "Freed arrived about two hours ago…"

Before Lily could finish his sentence, Mira had placed her cup down on the table and rushed back down stairs to the library. She moved so quickly, she had to catch herself on the frame of the door to the library. She was relieved to see the green haired mage who was sitting down at the table. He had a calm, if not tired, expression on his face and was examining a book that was resting on the workbench that everyone just assumed belonged to Levy. When he heard the heavy breathing, Freed looked up to see Mira's questioning gaze.

"Good morning, Mira." Freed greeted, always a stickler for formalities.

"Have you found out anything?" Mira asked without returning the greeting.

"Yes, I have found something." Freed replied with a stoic expression.

"Well?" Mira asked, the suspense causing her that much more anxiety for the whole situation.

"I have not discovered what it was that caused our guild mates to fall asleep," Freed said as he placed the book down and picked up a small piece of parchment. He then made his way over to Mira and stretched out his hand to give her the paper. "But, the person or persons responsible left a calling card of sorts."

Mira took the parchment and opened it up. She recognized the insignia almost right away. She was sure that no one in the guild would ever be able to forget it.

Phantom Lord.


	15. Chapter 15

Weather forecast for tonight: Dark. Continued dark overnight, with widely scattered light by morning. - George Carlin

* * *

The fight had started out with Natsu shaking Gajeel by the shoulders. Then Gajeel pushed Natsu off of him. More words were exchanged causing Natsu to look as if he was trying to run away, only for Gray to grab a hold of him. Then Levy, Lucy, and Juvia weren't sure what got said next, but Natsu pulled the first punch towards Gajeel. Gajeel managed to dodge the punch and answered with his own, which hit Gray's shoulder when Natsu bobbed out of the way. After that, the three boys seemed to hold nothing back as they struck out at each other.

"Juvia thinks we should do something." Juvia said.

"After you," Lucy said with a note of skepticism.

"If I had my magic, I wouldn't hesitate to stop them…" Levy mumbled with more concern in her voice than seemed necessary, which caused Lucy to give her friend a worried look.

Everyone seemed so focused on the fight taking place that they were all surprised by what they heard next.

"And what exactly do you think you are doing?" Erza's authoritative voice seemed to boom, even when she sounded like a child. Everyone stopped and looked in Erza's direction. Erza stood with her arms crossed in front of her, looking no worse for wear. Her guild mark had filled completely. Standing beside her, with a knowing smirk on his face was Jellal. His own face tattoo had filled in as well.

"I can't leave you three alone, can I?" Erza asked accusingly as she took a step towards the three boys. Almost instantly the boys separated from each other, all of them had grumpy looks on their faces. Levy and Lucy dropped from their perches and wandered their direction. It was then that they noticed that Jellal's tattoo had filled in.

"Jellal, does that mean that you've faced your nightmare too?" Lucy asked eagerly. Jellal only nodded in reply.

"So that means that the only ones left are Lucy, Natsu, and Levy?" Gray asked.

"Juvia believes so, yes." The small water mage answered.

"No word yet from the guild?" Erza asked as she let her arms drop down to her sides.

"Nothing." Levy replied.

"I wish that we didn't have to wait for them to contact us." Lucy whined.

"There might be a way." Jellal mumbled.

"How?" Levy replied.

"A spell I used to use a long time ago. I don't know if it will work, but if it does, I might be able to communicate with the rest of Fairy Tail." Jellal explained.

"Astral Projection." Erza mumbled and looked at Jellal. He nodded and held her gaze. The tension created by the single shared expression between the two was so intense, that it almost made it hard to breathe.

"Well, we won't know until you try." Gray commented, causing Jellal and Erza to break their gaze. "What do you need us to do?"

"Nothing, I just need a moment to focus. Like I said, it's been a long time since I last cast the spell." Jellal said and sat down on the stone floor. He moved into a more meditative pose with his ankles crossed beneath his legs and rested his hands on his knees. The group around him fell silent, watched, and waited.

* * *

It was late in the day when Mira made her way back up to the infirmary to check to see how things were going. Wendy, Carla, Happy, and Lisanna had taken to tending to the sleeping mages during the day. Everything seemed quite to Mira, but she had been busy in the guild hall and she hadn't had the time to check on them. All she knew for sure was that nothing catastrophic had happened, like the guild catching on fire or being encased in ice. Mira was actually slightly relieved that she hadn't been called to deal with an emergency of some kind. She had only thought to go and check on everything when she realized it would only be a few more hours before Pantherlily, Elfman, and Reedus would return to watch the mages during the night again.

Mira did make time to check in on any progress Freed made. He had be working on narrowing down what spell had been cast on their guild mates. Freed said that it was difficult to narrow down the list of spells, particularly when there was only a vague sense of what was going on with those under its power. He also wanted to be alerted when they would next attempt to communicate with the sleeping mages. Since two of the group had been members of Phantom Lord, they might be able to shed some light on what spell had been cast or the purpose behind the spell. Mira agreed, and alerted Warren to come to the infirmary before returning home. They would make contact at the end of the day, when it wasn't so busy.

Mira was pleased to see that things seemed just as quiet in the infirmary. Wendy was busying herself by checking on each individual mage. Mira wasn't sure exactly what she was doing, but assumed that Porlyusica had instructed her on caring for patients that are comatose. Carla and Happy were following Wendy, helping her whenever there was something she needed. Happy could be heard chatting away with his usual cheer, while Carla seemed content to let him talk. Lisanna was sitting between two beds looking attentively at the occupants.

"Is everything alright in here?" Mira asked, breaking Wendy and Lisanna's focus. Wendy smiled and greeted Mira before returning to her task. Lisanna smiled and jumped up from her seat to go speak with her sister.

"Mira! Did you bring me a fish?" Happy asked excitedly as he jumped up and flew towards the barmaid.

"No, I didn't, but if you go ask Kinana, I'm sure that she would be able to get one for you." Mira replied with a giggle. With that, Happy sped off down stairs causing Wendy and Lisanna to giggle and Carla to shake her head in disapproval. Mira walked towards her sister. "Well?"

"Everything is good so far." Lisanna said with confidence.

"Really?" Mira asked in disbelief. "Nothing strange or out of the ordinary?"

"Well, I don't think that it qualifies as out of the ordinary, but I don't think it's normal either…" Lisanna said thoughtfully. "Jellal has been restless all day. In fact I think this is the first time I've seen him look remotely relaxed."

"Oh, he was not so good last night either…" Mira mumbled before she and Lisanna wandered over to where the man slept.

"But we haven't had to do anything for him." Lisanna said with a giggle as the sisters approached the bed. "Erza seems to be dealing with him just fine without any help from us."

Sure enough, Jellal and Erza were now sleeping face to face with their foreheads touching. Erza had one hand behind Jellal's head with her fingers in his hair while her other was resting on his side. Jellal's arms were now wrapped around Erza's body in a loose embrace. Although their legs were under their covers, the sisters could tell that they were tangled together. Jellal suddenly made a sharp gasping sound and his brow furrowed. He tossed his body in his sleep so that he was lying on his back and his head shifted back and forth for a moment. The clear discomfort on his face didn't last long as Erza reacted by shifting her hand to rest against Jellal's chest and snuggled closer to the man so that her head now rested in the crook of his neck. Mira's thought on how cute the two looked was suddenly interrupted by an outburst from one of the sleeping mages.

"Wha ta fuck's tha s'posed ta mean…" Natsu mumbled in his sleep before rolling over restlessly. He had long since tossed his blankets off of him, likely not having an issue with being cold. Mira and Lisanna gaze drifted over to the dragon slayer's sleeping form.

"He's been doing that a lot too, talking and mumbling in his sleep." Lisanna said quietly with a worried tone. She crossed her arms across her chest, obviously uncomfortable with his behavior.

"That's not that unusual for Natsu." Mira said as she put a gentle hand on her sister's shoulder to reassure her. After Lisanna returned from Edolas, she had asked about what happened when she was gone. It was then that Mira told her about Natsu's night terrors. Lisanna was deeply upset to know that her best friend had suffered so much from her disappearance. But seeing Natsu restless in his sleep was different than hearing about it.

"Really?" Lisanna asked as she looked back at Mira. Mira nodded her head in reply before bringing her sister in for a hug.

"Besides, Natsu's been through worse. He'll get through this too." Mira added with an encouraging smile.

"Ahem… am I interrupting something?" The question came from a voice that Mira did not recognize. She and Lisanna turned to see who was there. Standing before the sisters was a young boy, dressed in a white v-neck shirt and tan cargo pants with bright blue hair, and upon closer inspection a red tattoo over his right eye.

"Jellal!" Wendy shouted before the young dragon slayer ran up to hug the boy, who only stood about an inch or two taller than her. Jellal stood slightly taken aback by the affectionate gesture, before relaxing into a slight smile and returning the hug.

"Oh, Jellal." Mira said as she brought her hands up to her cheeks before letting out a squeal. "You are so cute!"

The statement brought a deep blush to Jellal's face and a giggle from Lisanna and Wendy.

"But Jellal, how are you here?" Wendy asked as she pulled away from the boy.

"Astral projection, it's a spell I learned years ago. I wasn't completely sure that I would be able to cast the spell in my current state." Jellal said as took a look around the room. It was then that he saw himself sleeping nose to nose with Erza. Jellal's face became so red that Wendy felt the need to remind him to breathe.

"So what made you decide to try the spell now?" Lisanna said as she stepped in Jellal's line of sight, hoping to distract him from his and Erza's sleeping forms.

"Uh… we…" Jellal tried to speak. He shook his head to try to regain focus. "We hadn't heard from you in a while. We were hoping that you had some news as to our um… condition."

"Now that is a sight I have not seen in a very long time." Pantherlily said from the entrance of infirmary with Warren by his side.

"Lily, aren't you a little early for your shift tonight?" Mira asked with concern.

"Ah yes, I had heard that there would be an attempt to make contact tonight. As much as I would hate to admit it, I do miss Gajeel's company." Pantherlily said as he walked closer towards the growing group of mages. "What I hadn't expected to see was the likeness of Prince Jellal, though I would assume that this is the Jellal from Earthland?"

Jellal nodded in response mostly because he wasn't quite sure what to say.

"Well to be honest, we were about to make contact with you guys. Since Warren is already here, we are just waiting on Freed to see if he had discovered a way to wake all of you." Mira explained.

"Does that mean that you have learned anything more about what has caused this?" Jellal asked looking hopeful.

"Well…" Mira started, not quite sure how to proceed with the question.

"Am I late?" Freed called out to the group from the entrance of the infirmary. The green-haired man looked exhausted, with dark circles under his eyes and attire slightly askew. "I didn't realize how late it had gotten…"

"Oh no," Mira said in an attempt to assure Freed. "You aren't late at all, some of us just showed up a little early."

"Ah, I see." Freed replied, exhaustion evident in his voice. "I would like to proceed then if we are all ready."

"Yes, of course!" Mira replied and turned back to Jellal's childish projection. "You can let everyone know that we will be making the connection soon."

"I will, and thank you." Jellal replied with a nod and disappeared.

* * *

Juvia was watching quietly. She was mostly comfortable with silence and didn't find it uncomfortable like some of the others did. While Jellal sat in his meditative pose, she watched the others fidget. Juvia noted that Levy seemed particularly careful not to make noise, probably to allow Jellal the most quiet possible.

The others were not so careful.

Juvia could hear the soft tap of Erza's shoes against the stone floor and the young girl paced. For the most part, Erza kept her head down with her eyes on her shoes as she paced quietly about. Lucy sat still with her back against the wall. She appeared to be deep in thought as her nails tapped lightly against the ground. Gray was acting similarly as he leaned against a broken pillar. He had one hand on his pendant and was moving it back and forth on its chain. The soft clinking sound it made was almost soothing.

Gajeel and Natsu were probably worst at trying to be quiet. Juvia suspected that it wasn't in the nature of dragon slayers to be quiet. The two appeared to be having an argument that mostly sounded like muted grunts and hums. Although no words were said, Juvia could tell that Natsu was getting more upset with Gajeel. The more worked up Natsu got, the more intense Gajeel got. The more intense that Gajeel got, the louder the two seemed to growl and huff at each other. Juvia realized that she was not the only one to notice as Erza's steadily sounding footsteps picked up their rhythm. Juvia watched as Erza grabbed both dragon slayers by the ears and whispered something to them so quietly that Juvia couldn't hear what was said. She assumed that it was some kind of threat because when Erza let go, both dragon slayers huffed and walked away from each other wearing annoyed looks.

It wasn't long after the two boys had been separated that an audible gasp came from Jellal. Everyone turned to look to see Jellal breathing a little heavy and leaning back on his hands. Not surprisingly, Erza was the first to reach him.

"Jellal?" Erza asked sounding concerned.

"I'm fine." Jellal replied while taking some deep breaths. "The guild will be making contact with us soon."

"Did they find out anything?" Lucy asked.

"I did not ask for specifics, but Freed has arrived and has been working on releasing us from our situation." Jellal explained.

"Hey guys, can everyone hear me?" Warren's voice called out from above.

"We can hear you Warren." Gray replied.

"Alright, we got them, go ahead, Freed." Warren said.

"Yes, of course. I apologize that I was so late arriving to the guild." Freed stated.

"Thank you for getting here when you did. Have you learned anything about our condition?" Erza asked as she kneeled next to Jellal.

"Yes, I have found out a bit about what is happening with you. It appears to be a spell of some kind. I would need to know the specific spell that was cast in order to try and reverse the effects. I have gotten close to determining exactly which spell it is, but still have more work to do. I was actually hoping that you could assist me."

"You need our help?" Lucy asked.

"Yes," Freed continued. "You see, I have very little to go on in terms of narrowing down the spell. If I knew more about what—"

"Hey, whe—" Natsu began to say before Erza shushed him. Natsu grumbled in response.

"Please continue, Freed." Erza called out.

"Like I was saying, if I knew what was going on, I might be able to narrow down which spell was cast and undo the spell."

"Well the view isn't that great." Gray grumbled.

"We are in some kind of room, a lot of broken rock and stone, and there's this super creepy hallway." Lucy added.

"We experience, what can be best described as nightmares, down the hallway." Jellal continued.

"Our guild marks return to normal when come back from the nightmares." Juvia called out.

"Is any of that helpful?" Erza asked.

"I don't think so, but I would have to continue my research. I do need to ask a few questions of Gajeel and Juvia about something I uncovered." Freed explained.

Gajeel and Juvia glanced at each other before giving a response.

"We're listenin'," Gajeel grunted.

"While investigating in the library, I found a paper bearing the insignia of Phantom Lord." Freed continued. At the mention of their old guild, Gajeel let out a growl.

"If you're tryin' ta say that me an Juvia had somthin' ta do with this—" Gajeel shouted before he was cut off by a calm voice.

"Gajeel, relax. Freed is not trying to accuse you or Juvia of anything." Pantherlily called out.

"Lily?" Gajeel asked, relaxing slightly.

"Yes, I'm here Gajeel." Pantherlily replied. "We will be able to talk later, but right now we need to focus on getting you and the others back to normal."

"…Fine," Gajeel huffed as he crossed his arms.

"As I was saying," Freed continued with exhaustion laced in his voice. "The two of you were in the higher ranks of Phantom Lord. Is there any reason you could think of as to why a spell like this would be cast?"

"Juvia cannot think of a reason." Juvia replied, sounding slightly worried. "Although, Juvia does know that Master Jose would often do unpredictable things."

"Unpredictable?" Freed asked.

"Yeah," Gajeel replied. "And he was paranoid as fuck too. He'd never tell anyone the whole plan, just bits and pieces. He was the only one who knew what the fuck was goin' on."

"Juvia agrees. Juvia also knows that Master Jose would often not use things as they were meant to be used." Juvia replied, sounding distant as if she were recalling a memory. She jumped slightly when Gajeel moved to put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"That's it. We done?" Gajeel asked gruffly.

"Yes, if that is all the information you can give me, then I shall continue with my research." Freed replied.

"I am sorry we haven't been able to find much." Mira mumbled, sounding slightly ashamed.

"No, there is nothing to feel sorry about." Gray replied.

"It's getting late. We should let Mira, Freed and Warren rest." Pantherlily announced. "I will take watch over you again tonight along with Elfman and Reedus. I am sure that Freed will make more progress after a night of rest. He has been awake far too long and I am sure that his thoughts will be clearer after a night's rest."

"Of course." Erza replied, although there was a hint of disappointment in her voice.

"Now that I know I can project myself outside of this place, we will be able to make contact if we need anything." Jellal said in an attempt to provide comfort to everyone listening.

"Alright," Mira replied, but she did not sound reassured. "Please let us know if you think of anything that could help."

"We will." Erza said and shortly after Warren cut off the link.

* * *

 **Hi everyone.**

 **I came to the realization yesterday that in about a month I will be going back to school. That means if I don't finish this story by then, it may be a very long time before they end of the story gets here. I don't want to do that to you guys.**

 **To all those concerned about if they were really talking through Warren, yes they really were talking through Warren. I just didn't see the need to repeat conversations that I had already gone through.**

 **I also want to say thanks to everyone who reviews because it lets me know if the story I am telling is the story you are reading. I hope that made sense.**

 **Please review to let me know what you think!**


	16. Chapter 16

_"_ _Anticipation—That's where terror and fear live, not in reality." – Byron Katie_

For Levy, the anticipation was bad, but worse than that was the knowledge that she would have to share her deepest fear with someone. The only way to avoid that was to try and deal with this thing before anyone knew she was gone.

As soon as Jellal sat down to attempt his astral projection spell, Levy moved towards the hallway slowly. She had to move slowly, any sudden movements would be picked up on by the group. But Levy knew that she could do it. Levy had always been light on her feet and with both Natsu and Gajeel without their enhanced dragon senses; she could sneak away without anyone seeing. She also knew that once she was out of hearing range, she could run without worrying about an echo. She had noticed that she hadn't heard an echo the entire time she was here.

Levy walked with light steps down the hall. When she looked over her shoulder and couldn't see the rest of the group, Levy broke out into a light jog. Levy was so focused on getting away that she couldn't hear the footsteps that were rapidly closing in on her until it was too late.

Levy thought that she heard her steps echoing behind her so she slowed down to take a look over her shoulder. Before Levy could see what was making the second set of footfalls, she collided with something. The only thing she saw was a streak of pink and a flash of white before she tumbled on the floor with her eyes closed.

* * *

It was a few minutes before anyone spoke.

"So now we're just stuck here?" Lucy asked with a voice that sounded defeated.

"No, we will continue our endeavors." Erza commented. "We still don't know what will happen when all of us have faced our nightmares."

"Perhaps while Freed is working back in the real world, we will learn something here. Maybe we should start looking around this room for clues." Jellal offered.

"Levy, have you noticed any strange…" Lucy stopped midsentence when she couldn't see the small bluenette. "Levy? Levy!"

Panic suddenly filled the whole room as each mage started looking around frantically for the tiny script mage.

"Maybe Levy woke up?" Juvia questioned trying to sound hopeful.

"No, Levy would have said something while we were talking with the guild." Erza theorized.

"Guys, Natsu is gone too." Gray commented with a sigh.

"You don't think they…" Lucy trailed off as she gave a look towards the hallway.

"Dammit Salamander!" Gajeel yelled as he turned and took off to run down the hall not paying attention to the other mages shouting at him. He remained focused at getting to that point in the hall where he knew the hall changed. He knew he was almost there when he felt the air ahead of him cool against his skin. It was then that he was abruptly jerked backwards by his shirt and shoved up against the wall. Gajeel let out a growl when he found himself face to face with Gray.

"Calm down, iron breath." Gray commanded as he fought to try to keep Gajeel pinned up against the wall.

"Shrimp needs my help in there," Gajeel growled back continuing to try to get past Gray. He was distracted enough that he missed when Jellal joined the tussle. Gajeel soon found himself effectively pinned against the wall by his shoulders with one boy on each arm. He was still taller than both of them, even in their child-like forms, but he had no leverage to try to move past them. Despite that, he still struggled and thrashed trying to throw the two boys off of him. "Let go of me, dammit!"

"Gajeel, stop this!" Erza commanded as she, Juvia, and Lucy caught up with the three boys.

"Gajeel, remember what Levy said," Lucy started, which actually caused Gajeel to pause. "We don't know what will happen if more than two people go in there. You could end up hurting Levy instead of helping her."

While Gajeel paused, Juvia approached him and stood in front of him. Her eyes were filled with worry and compassion for her friend. "Juvia understands how worried Gajeel-kun is for Levy. But, Juvia believes Levy will be fine. Levy with Natsu and Juvia knows Natsu will not let any harm come to Levy."

Gajeel stopped struggling and looked down at the floor. He knew that they were right and the last thing he wanted to do was put Levy in danger. The fact that Natsu was with her put him at ease and at the same time pissed him off. Gajeel knew that Natsu would keep Levy safe, but it should have been him. He should be the one with the Shrimp. He should be the one helping her and not that flaming, pink haired, dumb-ass.

Gajeel relaxed against the hold the two boys had on him. Gray and Jellal glanced at Erza and then at each other before releasing their hold on the young iron dragon slayer. Once he was out of their grip he took a few steps forward. Erza lightly pulled Juvia to the side and out of Gajeel's way while keeping a wary eye on him. Gajeel let out a roar of frustration and punched the stone wall in front of him. It only made him more frustrated that he didn't feel the pain that should have come from his fist hitting stone. There wasn't even a crack in the stone.

"Let's go find your damn clues…" Gajeel growled as he walked back towards the empty antechamber.

* * *

Natsu and Levy toppled over each other. Natsu landed face first on the floor and gave out a groan when Levy landed right on top of him.

"Natsu, what are you doing here?" Levy groaned when she spotted the fluff of pink hair. She got up and brushed the dust off of her short overalls.

"Uhh, I followed you here." Natsu said as he pushed his small body off of the floor. "I just saw you walking down the stupid hallway while everyone was still talking. I tried saying something, but Erza just told me to shush. Besides, if Erza found out I saw you come down here alone and didn't do anything, she would probably murder me…" Natsu explained as he dusted himself and began looking around. "Hey do you see my other sandal?"

"I didn't think anyone saw me." Levy said with a huff and started walking in circles. "I was just so worried and wanted to get this over with and I figured that I wouldn't be long and I would be done and back before anyone missed me and it wouldn't be a big deal and now you're here and I bet Gajeel is going to be pissed and Lucy will be worried and—"

Levy was interrupted when Natsu grabbed her by the shoulders. She waited for him to say something, something profound and insightful to sooth her anxieties.

"Wow, I didn't think that would work." Natsu said as his face broke into a lopsided grin.

"What would work?" Levy asked with a quizzical look on her face.

"When Lucy gets upset she starts walking around and talking way too fast too, so I just stop her." Natsu explained before he added with a goofy smile, "I think you caught some of Lucy's weirdness."

Levy brought a hand up to her forehead making an audible smacking sound, before taking a deep breath. "You know what, your right, I can't get this done and over with if I am too focused on how anxious I feel. I just need to take care of this so we can get out of here."

"Hey Levy, where is here?" Natsu asked as he walked past the petite girl to look around, grabbing his sandal as he went. Levy followed behind him and took her first real look at their surroundings.

The first thing that Levy noticed was that there were books, everywhere. To each side of her were shelves with stacks and stacks of books, and when Levy looked up she couldn't see to top of the stacks. Books of various colors and sized were stacked and organized. Some of the books looked brand new with titles that reflected in an assortment of colors. Others had spines that were worn down; one book in particular was so worn that Levy thought for sure if she picked it up, it would fall apart. The floor was a faded blue carpet, and other than the stacks of books, Levy couldn't see a wall in sight.

"I would say we are in a library of some sort." Levy said as she moved towards the end of one of the stacks. In the distance she could see the end of a desk, which she hoped meant that she could ask for some information.

"Wait, I thought you liked libraries?" Natsu said as he followed Levy with his hands folded behind his head.

"What do you mean?" Levy asked as she continued towards the desk.

"Well I thought that this was supposed to be a nightmare. So shouldn't we be somewhere where you are afraid of stuff?" Natsu asked with confusion in his voice.

"Not all fears work the same, Natsu. Maybe someone else if afraid of a place, but sometimes fear is a little more complicated." Levy said and a smile broke on her face when she read that sign above the desk that said 'Information'. As she approached the desk she could also see a small bell to ring for help. "Besides, this is a dream. There are a lot of things in dreams that don't make sense." Levy said as she stretched on her toes and lightly tapped the call bell.

"Like what?" Natsu asked as the two of them waited for someone to answer the bell.

"Like that…" Levy said as she openly gawked at the sight in front of her. The person who appeared at the help desk stood tall. He had a double breasted red waist coat and what appeared to be a rapier attached to his waist.

"Wait, is that… Gajeel?" Natsu started to ask, a bit dumb struck.

"Yeah…" Levy mumbled as the man took a look at them both.

"Can I help you?" Gajeel asked in his usual raspy voice, but his annunciation had changed. He pronounced every word perfectly. Levy noticed that he had his hair pulled back into a low hanging pony tail and the distinctive spikes in his hair were replaced by a smooth and glossy appearance. His tanned face still held all of his piercings, but the tone of his voice and his facial expression were virtually emotionless. If he recognized Levy and Natsu, he didn't show it.

"Hey rust bucket, why are you dressed up like Freed?" Natsu asked, before Levy smacked his arm.

"I'm really, really sorry for my friend here, could you explain where we are?" Levy asked as Natsu rubbed his arm dramatically. The Gajeel behind the desk shot a slight glare at Natsu before answering.

"You are in the McGarden Archives. Here you will find any and all information about one Levina McGarden." Gajeel replied as he began to organize some books into different stacks. Levy cringed slightly at the mention of her full first name.

"Levina?" Natsu asked while giving Levy a side glance. Levy quickly buried her head in her hands and mumbled, "I don't want to talk about it."

"Wait, that means that all these books are about you…" Natsu said and reached for one of the books at the information desk. The book was titled: _Favorite Smells_. Natsu opened the book to the first page and instantly a scent erupted from the book. The page read 'Spring Rain Shower'.

"Natsu what are you doing?" Levy asked when she noticed one of her favorite smells in the air.

"Hey Levy, are all books like this?" Natsu asked as he turned to the next page that read 'Blueberry Pancakes'.

"Natsu!" Levy complained with blush on her cheeks as she grabbed the book from him and put it back down on the desk. "That's private!"

"Is there anything else that the two of you need?" The dark haired man at the desk asked impatiently. "I have a lot of work to get done so if there is nothing else…"

"No!" Levy said suddenly panicked. "I mean, um… Is everything about me, I mean about Levina McGarden in these books?"

The Gajeel behind the information desk narrowed his eyes before answering. "Yes, that is what this archive is devoted to."

"What if I wanted to know about her greatest fear? Where would I find that?" The little bluenette asked, suddenly feeling small under the man's gaze.

"The fears and nightmares department is on the second level." The oddly dressed Gajeel said before he motioned to the right of the information desk. The child-like Natsu had turned to look in the direction right away while Gajeel continued with his instructions. "Once there, one of the other custodians will help you narrow down your search."

"The second level! How am I supposed to get to the second level if I can't even see the top…" Levy started to complain until Natsu physically turned her in the direction Gajeel had pointed.

"Oh…" Levy said as she gazed upon a wall that she could have sworn wasn't there when they turned the corner to get to the information desk. Up against the wall was a staircase. There was nothing particularly special about the staircase, other than the multiple book cases that were built into the wall behind it. When Levy's eyes followed the staircase, she couldn't see the end of it.

"How far up does it go?" Levy mumbled feeling slightly dumbstruck and so much smaller in the enormous library, which only seemed to be getting bigger.

"As far as you are willing to take it." Gajeel gruff voice replied before returning to his task of organizing books.

* * *

 **Hello everyone!**

 **I wanted to say thanks to those that reviewed, favorited, followed, etc.**

 **To Sblackw: I would rather leave a story incomplete than publish something that is low quality. My writing process is really extensive. I write (type) part of the story, then I read it. Then I have my editor/brother read it. Then I reread it and write some more. Then when I have enough to be considered part of a chapter, I rearrange everything so that it flows well, then I reread it again. Then I have my editor/brother reread it. Then we discuss the good points and bad points, do any editing that needs to be done, then I let it sit for a day or two. Then I reread it again and if I am satisfied with it, I publish it. This is part of why when I start school, it would be a really long time between updates. That being said, I appreciate the input and I am glad you think my work is high/good quality.**

 **Again, I'd like to encourage you to review and let me know what you think, or if you have questions or comments.**

 **Thanks for reading!**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: In the art of book binding, a boss is piece of metal inset into the cover of a book at the corners as either decoration or as a method of protecting the cover from wearing down. (I didn't know what they were called before, so I thought I would share. The more you know…)**

 ******I have been told by my editor that this chapter should come with a trigger warning. It made him cry. This is your warning.*****

* * *

"Nothing haunts us like the things we don't say."

―Mitch Albom, Have a Little Faith: a True Story

They had been climbing these stairs for about ten minutes and there seemed to be no end to them as far as Levy could see. At one point early on, she became curious enough to want to see how far they had gone. When she turned to look behind Natsu, who was walking behind her, she could no longer see the first floor of the archives. The feeling it left her was unnerving. She felt like she was a sailor who was lost at sea with no land in sight and no stars to guide her. All the while the anticipation of what she would find continued to eat at her.

"Hey Levy, I need to ask you something." Natsu said as he continued to follow behind Levy as they made their way up to the second floor. So far, he seemed more relaxed than Levy, but she could feel the anxiety in his words.

"I am not going to talk to you about Lucy." Levy answered before Natsu could get the question out.

"What? But, why not?" Natsu complained as he picked up his pace to walk side by side with Levy instead of behind her.

"It's not my place to tell you what Lucy is going through. If she wanted you to know, she would have told you." Levy replied, still looking straight ahead.

"But I want to help her!" Natsu said sounding slightly exasperated. "Look, I know that I screwed up really bad, like really, really bad. But I want to fix this, I need to fix this. It's really important."

Levy stopped and glanced at Natsu. He wasn't looking at her. Instead he was looking down at his feet with a serious look on his face. Levy let out a sigh before she reached out to touch Natsu's shoulder. Natsu looked up at her touch and Levy could see the sadness in his eyes.

"I've known you for a long time, Natsu. I know how much Lucy means to you. Lucy's important to me too. But, she asked me specifically not to tell anyone about this and even though I don't agree with what she's doing, I have to respect that." Levy explained. At her words, Natsu hung his head with a look of defeat. The sight of Natsu giving up and accepting Levy's words caused her heart to ache and she began to rub his shoulder to give some form of comfort. "Natsu, if she really means that much to you, then you need to tell her. Explain what happened and how you feel and I am sure that she will open up to you."

"You think?" Natsu lifted his head slightly to meet Levy's eyes. Levy gave him a reassuring nod and a smile. Natsu looked down briefly before he nodded and a hint of his goofy smile returned to his face. "Alright, let's keep going then." Levy let out a small giggle before the two started climbing the stairs again. However, after taking just a few steps, they were able to see the stairs open up to the second landing.

While the first floor had a blue carpeted floor, the second floor was made of a honey colored marbled floor. It gave a bright and clean feel to the second floor. The next thing the two noticed was a tall figure walking towards them. As the figure came closer to them, they were able to make out the tall, masculine, figure. His chest was bare and his muscled torso showed many visible scars. The man was bare foot except for cloth wraps that started at the arch of each foot and ended at his mid-calf where a pair of green sweat pants began. The man also had similar wrappings around his waist. He had a giant sword on his back that appeared to be held up by a string tied diagonally across his front. The man's long, spiked hair was almost pitch black and reached far down his back. The man stopped in front of the two children and crossed his arms across his chest. On his face there was a smirk that exposed two unusually sharp canines and a wide scar that came across his left eye.

"Welcome to the second floor of the McGarden archives. How may I assist you?" Although the face and body definitely belonged to Gajeel, his voice did not. His voice was smooth and velvety and he spoke with poised confidence as opposed to Gajeel's usual gruff and cocky mannerisms. As he asked the question, Levy also spotted two black, rounded ears in the mane of his hair and a black tail flicked back a fourth behind him.

"Levy," Natsu whispered to Levy. "What happened to Gajeel's piercings?"

Levy was far too distracted by the difference in height between her small child-like form and Gajeel's tall and imposing figure… and yet she didn't feel uncomfortable with this Gajeel. This Gajeel wasn't overly aggressive. In fact, in response to Levy's speechlessness, this Gajeel kneeled down on one knee in front of her.

"What is your name?" The man's direct attention toward Levy shook her from her temporary state of shock.

"I'm Levy and this is Natsu." Levy replied and motioned to the pink haired dragon slayer next to her.

"Hello, my name is Pantherlily, but you may call me Lily. I am a custodian here. Is there something I can help you find here Miss Levy?"

"Um… yes. I was looking for a fear; my, I mean, Levina's worst fear." Levy replied while Natsu watched with a look of confusion on his face. The Gajeel, who just called himself Lily, raised an eyebrow at her request.

"Are you sure that is what you want to do, Miss Levy?" He asked as his tail flicked again behind him.

"Yes, I'm sure." Levy replied trying to sound more confident than she felt.

"Okay," the man replied as he held out a hand to Levy. "Let's get started."

Levy allowed him to guide her towards the left side of the second floor while Natsu followed behind them fascinated by the tail that flicked back and forth from the self-proclaimed Pantherlily. It was at this point Levy realized the first major difference between the first and second levels. Levy recognized that on this level, the walls were blank. The dark grey-ish walls had no picture frames, no shelves and no decorations of any sort that Levy could see. As she found herself being led towards a wooden door along the wall that felt so odd and empty, she began to wonder where all the books were.

"If you are looking for past fears, you will find them here." Pantherlily explained and pushed the door open. They were instantly accosted by the shouting coming from the room. Levy peeked around Pantherlily to see what was going on, with Natsu peeking in around her shoulder.

Two men sat at a table covered in books. The first man was leaning back in his chair with his feet kicked up on the table and his ankles crossed, causing the chair to tilt backwards precariously. He wore simple pair of slacks that covered the top half of his black shoes. His grey t-shirt was partially covered with a black leather jacket. His black hair was fashioned into a spikey pompadour and a thick pair of black sunglasses covered his eyes. This man also had a metal pipe hanging out from his mouth and Levy could see piercings along the bridge of his nose and along his eyebrows. He spoke with a gravelly voice when he addressed the other man at the table. "Look man, I'm tellin' you, this book belongs in the A section."

"Yeah, right knuckle head. It clearly belongs in the C section." The other man retorted in the same voice as he stood up. This man had a dark blue dress shirt which stood as a sharp contrast to his white pants. The sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, which exposed metal piercings along his forearms. The shirt's top buttons were undone and on the necklace that hung from the man's neck was a dragon pendant. The man also sported metallic piercings along his eye brows and nose and his black hair spiked out in all directions.

"Ahem…" The Gajeel-like Pantherlily cleared his throat to get the attention of the two men, who snapped their heads in the direction of the trio. "Levy, this is Wakaba and Macao. They are the custodians for this section of the archives. They should be able to help you find whatever you need in this section."

"Gihi, if you know what you're lookin' for." The man with the pipe scoffed.

The man who claimed to be Macao nodded his head and pointed over his shoulder. "Nab over there can't seem to figure out what the hell he wants." He added with a smirk.

Over in the corner of the room, gazing at one of the book shelves stood a tall man. His long, black spikes fell down his back. The spikes around his face were held out of his face with a thin leather band. This man wore a black vest with randomly placed tassels of dark red and grey, which exposed his muscular torso. Instead of pants, he wore a kilt made from dark grey leather. A belt made of metallic chain held the kilt in place. On his feet he wore gladiator like sandals made of dark leather that wrapped up and around each of the man's calves. Around his neck was a necklace that appeared to be made of iron teeth while a similar looking article hung from his hips. Like the other men that Levy and Natsu had seen so far, he also had piercings along his forearms, eyebrows, and nose and, just like the other men, he spoke using Gajeel's voice. "Hey, I ain't just lollygagging here! I'm lookin' for the perfect book. I just know there's a perfect book here for me."

Just as a new argument broke out, this time between Macoa, Wakaba, and Nab, Natsu leaned in to Levy.

"Levy, I'm scared." Nastu whispered in a high pitched and slightly panicked voice. "Why is everyone here Gajeel?"

Levy rolled her eyes at Natsu's dramatic reaction before she addressed Pantherlily. "Gajeel? I mean, Lily… I don't think I will find what I am looking for here."

"Alright," the cat-eared man replied and led Levy out of the room, still holding her hand. Natsu followed right behind them, closing the door on his way out. Natsu had an odd look on his face, clearly disturbed by the number of Gajeel look-alikes.

Pantherlily led the two towards the opposite side of landing. Levy swore that with every step she took, the lights seemed to dim. She tried not to let it bother her, but it did.

"This is where all the future fears reside." Pantherlily said as they approached what appeared to be a dark and deserted hallway. The hallway was so dimly lit that the light honey marble floor took on a dark grey tone. Pantherlily stopped unexpectedly and kneeled on one knee to talk to Levy. "Miss Levy, it is here that I must leave you."

"What?" Levy gasped.

"I can only guide you this far. Ultimately, what you do with the book is up to you." He said as he gave a smirk very characteristic of Gajeel. He raised a hand to cup the small girl's face. "I have complete and total trust that you will know what you need to do." He then ran his hand through Levy's hair lovingly before standing up and walking away from her and Natsu. Levy's gaze followed him as he walked away and her eyes widened with shock as his figure faded out of existence.

* * *

There was an air of anxiety in the air of the antechamber as the child-like mages searched the room for clues. Everyone had been put on edge, but they were trying their best to ignore it.

Juvia was examining stone of the walls. She occasionally would run her fingers along the stone as if she were tracing some imaginary pattern on the smooth surface before she would move on. Lucy was also looking along the walls. She was trying to figure out where the sources of light along the walls came from, convinced that if they figured out this mystery, it may lead them to a clue on how to get out of this place. She had even climbed a large stone to try to get closer to the light source, but no matter how close or far from the light she was, it always looked the same.

Gray was focused on the floor, trying to find patterns in the stone blocks. He would look in one spot for a moment before he moved on to another. He had been doing this for long enough that he had circled the room at least four times. Gray couldn't find anything that pointed him in one direction or another.

Jellal and Erza had taken to investigating the broken stone scattered about the room. Jellal seemed to believe that perhaps the broken stone pieces made up the part that they were missing. He and Erza had gathered as many of the pieces as they could and tried making them fit together. At one point, it appeared as though Jellal had seen a pattern of some kind only to find that not only did the two pieces not fit together, but closer inspection revealed that the two pieces were not even the same color. Despite this setback, Erza and Jellal worked diligently gathering and organizing the ruined stones.

Gajeel was at a loss.

In the time that Levy and Natsu were gone, Gajeel's frustration had only grown. He wasn't used to looking for signs or putting together ambiguous clues. Sure, he had done a little investigating when he was doing undercover work for Makarov, but people were easier to deal with than symbols, letters, or numbers. This was what the Shrimp was best at. He was always better at being the muscle or someone to be scared of. He could intimidate the snot out of most people, but not Levy. Levy was good at this stuff and that fact only made it more difficult to not focus on the fact that she was off with Natsu in the middle of a nightmare. His frustration flared again and he picked up a rock and threw it against the stone wall, drawing the attention of the other mages.

Jellal and Erza looked in Gajeel's direction for a brief moment before they continued with their task. Gray, similarly, mumbled something under his breath as his continued his bout around the room. Lucy on the other hand decided to say something, despite Juvia's attempt to dissuade the blonde from doing anything.

"Look Gajeel, I get that you're upset, but—"

"Shut it blondie!" Gajeel growled. "You're the reason Salamander ran after the Shrimp, so I don't wanna hear anythin' from you."

"My fault?" Lucy asked sounding rather offended. "Look, just because he's my partner doesn't mean I can control anything Natsu does."

Gajeel grew incredibly serious and started walking towards Lucy with purpose. Gray and Erza reacted quickly and stood between Gajeel and Lucy. Gajeel let out a growl and moved so that Lucy could clearly see him.

"Ya better listen bunny girl, 'cause I am tired of this shit between you an' Salamander." Gajeel said angrily. "Right now, that fire breathin' dumbass is tryin' to figure out what in the hell is goin' on in your head. Since the only one you've been talkin' to lately is the Shrimp, he figures that she would know somethin'. Now usually it ain't any of my business what happens in your personal life, but I am tired of this circus act!"

"I-I don't know what you're talking about." Lucy denied as she took a slight step back from Gajeel.

"That's a load of dragon shit an' you know it." Gajeel shouted. "You've been avoidin' Salamander since Fairy Tail got back together. Everyone can see it, but no one wants to say anythin'."

The whole room became silent at Gajeel's accusation.

"As much as I hate to admit it, Gajeel's right." Gray said sounding more like an exasperated sigh than anything else. He turned towards Lucy with his arms crossed.

"I will admit that I did not expect for it to last this long." Erza said as she turned away from Gajeel to address Lucy. "I kept my distance because I assumed that the two of you could handle whatever this is between you and Natsu. However, it seems that this situation is no longer just affecting you and Natsu. I feel that it is time for us to intervene."

"What do you mean?" Lucy asked with a whimper in her voice.

"When Natsu and Levy come back, you and Natsu will work this out." Erza said as she approached the blonde girl with her hands on her hips.

"However I will leave you with an option. You can work this out here in front of all of us, or you and Natsu can go down the hallway to work things out in private. It's your choice."

* * *

"Levy?" Natsu's voice caused her to turn back towards the dark library hall, though she still was hesitant to move forward. Something about this hall gave her a feeling of dread deep in her heart. She knew that this would not be pleasant and most likely emotionally painful. But it reminded her of having to set broken bones: painful but necessary and just like having to set broken bones, there was no real way to prepare for it. It made her want to resist, but instead she closed her eyes and took a deep breath like she was getting ready to rip off band-aid. When she opened her eyes, she felt a little more determined.

"Okay, let's go Natsu." Levy said as she took the first couple steps down the hall. Natsu nodded and followed beside her. As they walked down the hall it began to slowly change to be much different from the rest of the library. They had come across an old rug with edges that were rough as if parts of it had been chewed my some kind of rodent. Levy thought that in proper light it would appear to be a bright red, but the darkness of the hall made it seem a dark burgundy. Levy tried to shake away the thought that it reminded her of the color of dried blood. Levy also began to notice spider webs in the corners where the wall met the ceiling or where the wall connected to the floor. She also noticed that there were rips and tears in the wallpaper on the walls, though she couldn't figure out when the wallpaper had even appeared. It left her painfully aware of the foreboding feeling that seemed to grow in her chest.

Levy wanted to ask Natsu if he had a similar feeling about the hall. She had noticed that Natsu was more serious since their guide disappeared. Levy began to wonder if Natsu was more intuitive than he let on, or if he was just aware of what this specific situation needed of him. Before that line of thinking could continue much further, she saw the first book they encountered since entering the hall.

"This is it, Natsu." Levy said in barely a whisper as she pointed out a book that was propped up against the dark and barren wall.

Levy knew it was the right book the moment she saw it. This book was far bigger than any of the others she had seen in the library so far. It was at least as tall as the first floor of the guild hall and wider than two of the guild's tables placed together. The cover of the book was a dark powder blue and almost appeared velvety. In each corner of the cover was an intricately designed boss made of a pewter colored metal. Unlike the books she had seen so far, this book had no title on it. But the thing that made Levy realize that this was the book had nothing to do with how the book looked; it was how the book made her feel. Just the sight of the book caused a chill to run down her spine. Levy felt suddenly like she was holding her breath and she could hear how quickly her heart beat in her chest. Her heart was beating so hard, it was actually becoming painful. Levy even jumped and gasped when Natsu placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Levy?" Natsu questioned with a look of concern. Even without his special senses, he could tell that the atmosphere of the dream had changed. Levy's worried face met his as she tried to calm herself.

"I'm okay," she replied after forcing herself to take a few deep breaths. "Help me open it."

Levy and Natsu picked up one of the metallic covered edges and pulled at it until it the cover fell open. Before they could investigate further, the pages of the book started to turn themselves as if they were being blown by a nonexistent wind. It left Levy confused when the pages suddenly stopped and she could actually see the pages.

They were blank.

Levy reached for a page in an attempt to turn it only to find that her hand passed through the page and into the book. Levy took a look at Natsu before she grabbed his hand and climbed into the book.

It was a surreal experience to say the least. Levy had gone from climbing into a book to feeling like she had jumped out of a window. When she looked back, there was a large rectangle floating in mid-air. Through the rectangular shape she could see the hall of the library that she and Natsu had just come from.

Levy wasn't sure where she and Natsu ended up, but it looked like some kind of disaster had struck. There were people all around them nursing injuries of some kind. Those that were not hurt were tending to the wounded. Levy noticed two girls crying and holding on to each other. One of the girls had blood covering her shoulder, while the other appeared to have cut open her head. Both were covered in dirt and sweat. The crowd of injured people seemed to take up the entire street the two mages and stumbled upon.

"Where are we?" Natsu asked his tone unusually serious.

Levy looked around for clues to where they were. It was then that she noticed they were near a large building, or at least what was left of it. The once tall building appeared to be missing a wall and three of the four towers that stood at each corner were partially or completely collapsed. The building appeared to have once had two tall stone doors with a detailed arching design carved into them. Now the building only had one door that hung crookedly up against building, while the remains of the other door were crumbled on the ground around the steps that led to the entrance. Along the far side of the building, she saw things on the ground covered with cloths that may have been white at one point. Some of them were covered in dirt; others had streaks across them that distinctly reminded her of blood. Levy suddenly felt like she had a lump stuck in her throat when she realized that the cloths were likely covering the dead.

"Please, I need everyone to listen to me." A woman's voice startled Levy as it drew the attention of the two mages and the crowd. Levy recognized the speaker immediately as Bisca, though it was clear that she had seen much better days. Her long green hair was in tangles and she had bandages on her leg that started from her ankle and went all the way to her thigh. She was standing on her uninjured leg and was using a crutch to balance herself as she addressed the crowd. "We are working on getting more food and water. If you have family that has been severely injured, we have healers inside the Cathedral that can help. If you are missing family members please go to the meeting area behind the Cathedral and a member of Fairy Tail will help you. If you are uninjured and able to work, they need help in town trying to find supplies and survivors. You can go to the park to retrieve an assignment there…"

"This is Kardia Cathedral…" Natsu mumbled as he took a look around.

"That means we're in Magnolia." Levy said as she turned away from Bisca. "Natsu! The guild!"

Without another word between them, both children took off running in direction of the Fairy Tail guild hall.

"What the hell happened here?" Natsu asked as they ran.

"I have no idea, but I have a really, really bad feeling about this." Levy replied as they ran. It looked like there was no part of the town that had gone unscathed. Entire shops and homes were crumbled on top of each other. Many of the plants that were once planted around the town were either trampled or completely ripped out by their roots. Levy could see smoke from a fire in the distance and the sky above them was tainted an orange color due to the ash and haze of what remained.

As they turned the corner just before reaching the guild, Levy heard a voice that caught her attention. It was her voice. Levy stopped and changed direction to run away from the guild and towards what looked like the epicenter of whatever hit the town of Magnolia.

"Levy, wait! Where are you going?" Natsu called out to her as he followed behind.

"I thought I heard myself. I was shouting." Levy huffed as she ran while trying to listen for her own voice.

"Are you sure that you heard yourself?" Natsu asked as they came to a stop. At this point they were surrounded by rubble. A couple of the trees near them were on fire and it appeared that this part of the town was almost completely leveled.

Levy took a second to look around and listen. That was when they both heard it. It was closer than before and it was definitely Levy's voice that shouted, "Gajeel!"

"Levy, over there." Natsu said as he pointed to the other side of what used to be a street of houses; across the ruined buildings, about 40 yards away, they saw an adult Levy as she stumbled along through the streets. She was holding on to her left arm and limped as she walked through the streets, but she seemed to be in good shape, at least compared to some of the injured they saw by Kardia Cathedral. At her slow and limping pace, it wasn't long before Levy and Natsu had caught up to her.

"Gajeel!" She yelled as she continued to search for the iron dragon slayer. The sound of coughing followed by a pained gasp caught the attention of all three mages. The adult script mage started limping as quickly as she could towards the sound. Levy was unsure what else to do other than to follow her adult counterpart as she approached one of the many destroyed houses. Natsu was silent as he followed along with Levy.

"Gajeel?" The blue haired woman called again as they approached what had been the side of a house. Part of a decorative black iron gate seemed to survive and surrounded what must have once been a garden. The garden itself was barren, likely all the plants were destroyed in the disaster, and part of the eave of a nearby house had crashed across it. But, within the small garden area, Natsu and Levy distinctly heard the sound of someone coughing.

The two children were easily able to climb around the debris that blocked off the other half of the garden while the adult script mage had to push and move debris out of her way to make it to the same spot. It was much easier for Levy to maneuver around it than Natsu, who had some trouble getting though the tighter spaces. When Natsu caught up to her, she had tears falling down her face and both hands up covering her nose and mouth.

"Levy?" Natsu asked with concern, but all she did in response was point ahead of them.

The scene that lay before them was gruesome. In front of them was Gajeel. The iron dragon slayer was lying across the edge of a flower bed. His face was dirty with sweat and dirt, his eyes were closed and his head was resting to the side in a way that could have only been uncomfortable. It appeared that only thing that really remained of his clothing was his pants; his vest had likely been lost before the incident began. One of the legs of his pants was torn above the knee and the exposed leg was cut and bloody. Somehow the dragon slayer had also lost both boots leaving his feet bare, dirty, and cut. The most devastating thing to see was a spike from the iron gate that was embedded in his chest. If the spike had missed Gajeel's heart, it hadn't missed by much.

"Gajeel!" The adult Levy gasped when she finally pushed her way through the debris. She wasted no time in limping her way to the injured man, practically falling by his side. "No, Gajeel wake up." She mumbled as she pushed some of his sweat matted hair off of his forehead and tried to stir the man. She was rewarded for her efforts with a cough and a shallow, shaky breath. At the same time, the child-like Levy had come forward to sit near Gajeel's feet, the tears still flowing freely from her eyes.

The adult Levy's hand came up to cup Gajeel's face as his eyes fluttered open. "Shirmp? You're… okay."

"I'm fine, Gajeel. The guild is fine. I'm here, I'm right here. Everything is going to be okay." Levy replied with tears in her eyes. She quickly used her magic to conjure some bandages that she tried to use to put pressure on his wound.

Gajeel tried to sit up, which only resulted in a coughing fit as Levy began to fuss over him. "Don't try to move Gajeel. Just rest here. I'll go get Wendy." She tried to get up off her knees, but stopped as soon she felt a calloused hand grab at her arm.

"Stay…" was the only thing the man managed to choke out. Levy stopped trying to get up and instead used her magic to launch a signal into the air before she took Gajeel's hand in her own while continuing to put pressure on the wound in his chest.

"Okay, I won't go anywhere. Help is on its way. Just hold on Gajeel." Levy begged as fresh tears fell down her face. A worried look formed on Gajeel's face as he lifted a hand to Levy's cheek. He tried to wipe away her tears, which only resulted in leaving a smear of grime on her face.

"Levy..." Gajeel rasped out in between ragged breaths as he tried not to cough. "I… wanted to stay… by your side… forever…" Gajeel managed to say before another coughing fit took over him, this time leaving blood on his lips.

"Shh, don't talk. You need your strength to get better so we can go back to the guild hall, together." Levy sobbed as she tried to stop him from using his energy.

"I'm sorry… Levy…" Gajeel gasped as he struggled to take another breath. The hand on Levy's cheek shook before it became limp and fell against her shoulder. At the same time, Gajeel's grip in her hand released as his eyes fluttered shut.

"No…" The adult Levy whispered as she gripped the hand that fell to her shoulder. "No, no, no no."

The script mage redoubled her efforts to stop the bleeding from his chest as she began to fall into hysterics. "Damn it! Gajeel Redfox, don't you dare. You can't leave me here. Don't leave! Please don't leave. Don't leave me."

For the first time since sitting down, the child-like Levy turned her head away from the pair in front of her. Her body shuttered with sobs and she moved to put her hands on her ears as if she didn't want to hear what came next.

Her adult counterpart continued to beg over Gajeel's body. "Please wake up, Gajeel. Please! Don't leave me. I can't do this without you. Please… I love you." The woman cried as she buried her head in the crook of Gajeel's neck and her body rocked with sobs.

Natsu hadn't realized that he was crying until he felt something wet against his cheek. He quickly wiped the tears away and walked towards the child-like script mage.

"Levy… I'm sorry, I didn't know…" Natsu mumbled not really sure what to say.

"Of course you didn't know." Levy sniffled as she took her hands off of her ears and hugged her knees to her chest. "Nobody knows, because I haven't told anyone."

"Not even Lucy?" Natsu asked. Levy shook her head in response.

Natsu gaze fell back onto the fallen dragon slayer. He got sudden chills from how real the dream felt. He knew that this was a dream, but the sight of his fallen comrade, the blood, the destruction… it all felt real. "Don't you think he should know?"

"What?" Levy replied with a sob.

"Gajeel…" Natsu paused as he walked up to Levy and closer to the gruesome scene. "Don't you think Gajeel should know how you feel?"

"I haven't thought… I never…" Levy tried to say before her words failed her and she fell silent.

"If he really means that much to you..." Natsu added with a hint of a smile on his face. Levy made sound that may have started out as laugh, but it ended like a sob. Levy got up with tears still running from her eyes. As soon as she was on her feet she was hugging Natsu and Natsu was returning the hug and rubbing Levy's back in an attempt to comfort her.

"I always give such good advice, but I very seldom follow it." Levy recited, though it sounded muffled as she spoke into Natsu's shirt.

"I guess that means we both have people we need to talk to." Natsu added as Levy pulled away from him.

"I guess you're right." Levy mumbled. "We should head back then."

As soon as the words left her mouth, the scene faded away leaving just Levy, Natsu, and a stone hallway. Natsu was looking around while Levy was looking down at the cold stone floor.

"How did you do that?" Natsu asked in slight amazement.

"I was just ready to go back," Levy said without looking up. "It's just like Gajeel said before, the dream was only going to go as far as I was willing to take it."

Without another word between them, the two children walked solemnly down the hall, both of them too preoccupied with the thoughts in their head.

* * *

 **So I know that it has been almost two weeks since I put up the last chapter. I had to babysit my niece (she's 2 years old) for almost a week while my sister was at a convention. You have no idea how hard it is to try to get any writing done while trying to keep an eye on an active toddler… Did I mention that she doesn't nap?**

 **Anyway, I want to thank you guys for your patience. I am hoping that the next few chapters aren't delayed like this one was because I really want to get the rest (or at least most) of this story written before school starts back up and I slip into the void of not enough sleep and too much work that is nursing school.**

 **Thanks again everyone for your reviews/follows/favorites.**

 **Please leave me a review to let me know what you think. I am always super excited to read the reviews I get.**


	18. Chapter 18

_"I can push everything into the dark. But it leaves me empty. And the dark always ends up finding me in my sleep."_

 _― Rebecca Donovan, Barely Breathing_

Lucy stared at the other mages feeling dumbfounded before she turned to Erza.

"Are you serious? You can't just force me to sit down and have a heart to heart with Natsu. That's just… insane!" The small blonde mage argued.

"Perhaps not," Erza replied with a straight face as she crossed her arms over her chest. "But we can refuse to accompany you unless you talk with Natsu."

Lucy's eyes went wide and began to water. She didn't like any of the options that were being forced upon her. She hardened her face before the tears fell.

"That's not fair." Lucy responded as she tried to not let her voice quiver.

"Tough shit, bunny girl 'cause life. Ain't. Fucking. Fair." Gajeel growled as he crossed his arms over his chest as well.

"Fine." Lucy said and looked over at Gray.

"Oh no, Lucy. I'm with Erza on this one." Gray said holding his hands up as if he could physically hold back Lucy's pleading eyes. Lucy looked slightly rejected and turned away from the three mages.

"I don't think that I would be of any help to you in this case. I'm sorry." Jellal said before Lucy could approach him. He sounded genuinely sorrowful when spoke to Lucy, and she would agree with what Jellal said; but to have another person refuse to accompany her stung more than she was willing to admit. Lucy nodded her head and turned to the last person she could turn to at the moment.

Juvia had already walked over to Lucy with her head down looking ashamed of herself.

"Juvia?" Lucy asked with a pleading sound in her voice. Juvia looked up with watery eyes and reached out to grab onto Lucy's hand.

"Juvia does not wish for Lucy to feel abandoned. Juvia is very thankful that Lucy was able to help Juvia with her dream. But Juvia believes that Lucy should talk with Natsu. Juvia is sorry." The child-like water mage said as she took her free hand to wipe away the tears that had formed. "Will Lucy forgive Juvia?"

Despite the fact that Lucy was feeling hurt, she couldn't find it in herself to put any blame on Juvia. Lucy tightened her grip on Juvia's hand for a moment. "Of course, I don't blame you Juvia."

"What don't you blame Juvia for?" Natsu's voice called out. Lucy turned around to find Natsu with his arm around Levy's shoulder as the two entered the stone antechamber. Lucy's eyes narrowed slightly before her gaze fell onto Levy's face. The small script mage had tears still falling down her face.

"Shrimp!" Gajeel called out when he saw Levy's red and tearful face. The iron dragon slayer jogged towards Levy and growled as he pushed Natsu away from her. "What'd you do to her?"

"I didn't do anything!" Natsu shouted back, but he gave Gajeel room. Lucy noticed the sad look on his face as he did.

"You alright, Shorty?" Gajeel asked as he looked Levy over for injuries. Levy tried to answer him, but ended up breaking down in tears bringing her hands to cover her face. Before anyone else could react, Gajeel had her in his arms as he whispered, "You're okay, Shrimp. Everythin's gonna be okay." Gajeel was suddenly confused when his words caused her to cry harder. The only thing he could think to do was to hold on to her tighter as she sobbed.

The scene was heartbreaking to Lucy. Her best friend was reduced to tears and unable to say what was wrong. There was no way that Lucy was going to ask her to go with her. Lucy wasn't that cruel. That only left one option. She hardened herself as she turned to her pink haired partner. She almost broke her resolve when she saw that Natsu was looking off in the distance with a sad look in his eyes. For a moment she wondered what could have happened that would make Natsu carry such a somber expression, but she couldn't think like that. She refused to let her emotions get to her this way. With a shake of her head, she built up her wall again and started walking towards the hallway.

"Let's go, Natsu." She said quietly as she passed him. He looked up at her with a look of confusion, before he took a couple of hurried steps to catch up to her. It wasn't long before they couldn't hear the sounds of Levy's sobs anymore.

They walked in silence down the hall. Natsu was looking down at the floor except for the few times he dared to look at Lucy. Lucy kept her eyes ahead of her, determined to not speak or look at Natsu as they went partly because she didn't want to talk about whatever was going on between the two of them, but also because she had developed a lump in her throat. She wasn't sure if the lump was from seeing Levy so upset, or if it was the slight anxiety for what was to come. Either way, she was determined to not show any kind of weakness in front of Natsu. She was determined to not let him in.

"Lucy, I—" Natsu spoke with a solemnness to his voice, but it didn't prevent Lucy from cutting him off.

"Look Natsu, I just want to get this done and over with so we can get back." Lucy said as she looked down instead of at the pink haired boy. "Please don't make this any harder than it needs to be."

Natsu stopped and watched as Lucy walked a few more steps before waiting for him. His heart felt like it fell into his stomach when he saw that she wouldn't look at him. He could feel the tears coming to his eyes and tried to wipe them away quickly.

"I want to fix this." Natsu said as he began walking towards Lucy again. "I know that I screwed up and I want to fix this thing between us. I need to fix it. Please tell me what I need to do to fix it." As he got closer to her, Natsu tried to reach out to take her hand, but as soon as she felt his fingers touch her, she shrugged him away and moved her hand to her chest. The simple gesture gave him a pain in his chest that he couldn't explain.

"There's nothing to fix." Lucy replied quickly and continued walking. Natsu watched her as she went until a flash a pink pulsed down the hallway. He walked after her quickly trying to think of something to say. He knew that she was just trying to avoid it, but what could he do if she refused him again and again. He was distracted by his thoughts when the scene changed in front of him.

He was in a large and tall room. The walls looked they were painted gold and cream and arches of the same colors decorated the walls. As he stared up he noticed a large crystal chandelier that sparkled like the stars on a clear night, even though the room was as bright as day. Even the ceiling was intricately painted with pictures of babies with wings and clouds on the background of a light blue sky.

"Woah…" Natsu sighed and began to look around the room for Lucy, only to find that the room was full of people. All the people were very well dressed, the men in tuxedos and the women in long dresses that went all the way to the floor as well as sparkling jewels that hung from their necks or around their wrists. There was music playing in the background, but it was not anything close to what Natsu would consider dancing to and in fact as far as he could tell, no one was actually dancing. All of the people he saw were talking. This was the strangest party he had ever been to. Shaking the thought from his mind, he started looking around for Lucy.

Natsu walked around several small groups of people looking for the blonde child when he heard a familiar voice.

"Of course and thank you, the contribution from you and your husband has really made a huge difference in the organization."

Natsu turned quickly to see an adult Lucy talking to a couple. Lucy's gown was a dark blue with small glittering silver sparkles that reminded Natsu of the stars on a calm, clear night. The thin straps holding up the dress formed a scooped neckline that left the top of her ample breasts exposed and the back of the dress left bare skin down to the middle of her back. The chiffon styled overlay gave the appearance of a ruffle around the bust, and fit the woman's curvy frame down to the hips. The skirt of her dress hung loosely on her frame and almost reached down to the floor. Her hair was done in the fanciest hair style Natsu had ever seen. It was woven back and forth along her head accented with gems that sparkled as she tilted her head. The rest of her long locks were tied into an intricate knot behind her head and three sparkling jeweled strands fell from the knot. Lucy was standing confidently with a dainty glass of champagne in her hands. Natsu felt himself staring and during that moment was unable to hear what the couple said to the beautiful blonde.

"Yes, and I hope that you will continue to lend us your support." Lucy said before her attention was held elsewhere for a moment. With a sweet smile on her face, she said goodbye to the couple and headed towards the front of the ballroom where there was a stage. A white podium stood on the stage, and although it was empty at the moment, it still stood out as the focusing point of the room. As she walked away, from the other side of the couple, Natsu saw the child like Lucy. Their eyes met briefly, but it was long enough for Natsu to see that she was already upset about something. Lucy didn't have any tears falling from her eyes, but she had that look like one of her guild mates had been hurt.

Lucy held Natsu's gaze for a moment longer before she started following herself while Natsu followed close behind. Closer towards the stage, they saw the blonde move to the side. She had put her glass down on a table and was talking to a young woman in a maid's dress.

"Okay, so after that you can take the rest of the night off. We will work on getting everything else done tomorrow." Lucy explained sounding like she had just finished rattling off a list of things to get done.

"Yes Miss Lucy." The maid said as she bowed forward slightly. The young girl was stopped in the middle of her bow by gentle hands on her shoulders.

"I know that you're new here so you probably don't know, but don't call me Miss, just Lucy and don't bow. You're an employee, not my slave." Lucy said in a gentle voice. The young woman looked up at Lucy with a sweet smile.

"Yes, Miss, I mean Lucy." She replied.

"It's okay, and thank you, Hannah." Lucy replied with a soft smile.

"Miss Evans, what are you doing out here?" The voice of a man called out gaining the attention of the young maid and the adult Lucy. The man was tall, taller than the adult Lucy by half a head's length. He had dark brown hair and a face Lucy would consider to be charming. His dark blue eyes seemed to make his features of his face seem more intense and his flat affect made the man seem emotionally detached. The suit the man was dressed in looked pristine without a line or visible imperfection anywhere and he walked and spoke with an air of confidence that would have most people back off. In fact, both Natsu and Lucy noticed that Hannah had taken a few steps back, but the adult Lucy straightened her posture and glared at the man.

"She was assisting me with duties for the night." The blonde woman said with notable distain in her voice. "Not that it is any for your business."

"How we appear in the eyes of the public is my business." The man replied coldly which caused Natsu to narrow his eyes and let out a growl without realizing it. The adult Lucy turned to the young girl and placed a reassuring hand on her arm.

"Don't worry, Hannah, I can handle things from here." She told the young girl with a kind voice. The young girl nodded and quickly left the two alone. Lucy glared at the man the entire time before she turned away from the man and to a table her glass was resting on.

"I thought we've had this discussion before. I despise the way you address the staff." Lucy said with a stern voice as she sorted through some paperwork on the table.

"I don't understand what you are so opposed to, they are just servants." He said nonchalantly as he approached the blonde. He settled just behind her and off to one side, so when Lucy turned around to confront him, they were almost nose to nose. Despite how close the two were, Lucy didn't back down.

"They are employees, not slaves and not work animals. They have dignity and you should treat them with as much respect as you do your colleagues." Lucy's voice seethed. The man raised a brow with an amused look on his face as he moved to adjust one of his cufflinks.

"My parents had to leave early." The man said, completely dismissing Lucy's comment as if it had not happened. Lucy rolled her eyes and went back to the small stack of papers on the table.

"They asked me again about the prospect of children; you know how eager my father is for an heir." The man said almost with a hint of humor as he moved closer to Lucy's side and leaned up against the table.

"Then perhaps you should suggest they talk to your brother and his wife." Lucy said curtly and she neatly stacked the papers and placed them neatly on the table next to an envelope.

"Yes, but you see my brother is not the eldest, and therefore it wouldn't mean as much." The man said with an odd glint in his eyes. He began to run the back of his hand along Lucy's arm as he added, "I told them we would talk about it."

"You know that this is not that kind of marriage." Lucy quickly pulled away from his touch with a look of pure fury on her face. The man didn't look put-off by her actions at all, instead his face split into a cocky smile that made Natsu let out a low growl.

"Then what is your suggestion, Mrs. Heartphilia?"

"Well, _Mr. Heartphilia,_ " Lucy began her reply with hate dripping off of every word. "I suggest you seriously consider adoption, or you could take some other girl to bed to impregnate, because there is no way that _I_ will be giving _you_ a child."

With that, Lucy shoved the stack of papers into the envelope and shoved them up against the man's chest. "There, all prepared for your meeting on Monday. I'm going to bed, and that is not an invitation." Lucy said and picked up her glass of champagne off the table. She drained the mostly full glass before placing it back down on the table and turning away from both her husband and the bustling party.

Natsu glared at the man, who was apparently Lucy's husband. He had a growl on his lips as well as some choice words for the man who stared after Lucy with a lewd smirk, but was interrupted by soft voice.

"Let's go Natsu," the young Lucy said with tears building up in her eyes and a defeated look on her face. She refused to meet his eyes as she followed her adult counterpart. The look both confused Natsu and made his heart ache. What was it about this that made Lucy so upset? Natsu hadn't seen anything particularly scary, and the adult Lucy didn't seem particularly scared by the man she was married to. Natsu was about to ask Lucy what the big deal was as he followed her, but he stopped when he remembered what happened in Levy's dream. Natsu remembered the look in her eyes when she finally met with the horrific and bloody scene. He remembered the pain and fear that was written on her face from the time they entered that damn book.

So he didn't ask the question, he knew that it would make sense eventually. But, Natsu did begin to wonder what it was that would make Lucy so upset.

* * *

The night had passed quite quickly for Pantherlily, Reedus, and Elfman. It would have been almost completely uneventful except for the panicked shriek that came from Levy in the early morning hours. It had been enough to startle the group of mages, who were enthralled with their card game. It was difficult for the three men to watch poor Levy struggle with her covers and cry out. Despite the fact that Levy could out think some of the greatest minds around and was strong enough to be considered for S-class, there was still something that made her seem so fragile. Maybe it was that she very rarely cried, even if she was sad or hurt; or maybe it was her size that made their hearts hurt, but Levy's hysteric cries made the three of them feel sorrow down to their core.

In the end, Pantherlily was the one to curl up next to the small script mage and try to keep her calm. He rubbed his paw through her hair gently as he whispered reassurances to her and wiped away the tears that fell from her eyes. After what seemed like forever, her shouts quieted and turned into whispered sobs that only Pantherlily could hear, as tears continued to run down her face.

The morning light brought with it two visitors. The first visitor was Mira as she came every day to check on the sleeping mages. She greeted them all warmly as she asked about their night. Even Mira seemed upset to see Levy's tear streaked sleeping face. Before much else could be done, they were all interrupted by the ringing of a bell and a sparkle of light.

"Lucy?" Loke said as he straightened his suit and adjusted his glasses. He was taken off guard by his master's sleeping form and took a few quick looks around the infirmary. "What happened here?"

"Hey Loke," called out Lisanna and Wendy as they came into the infirmary with Happy and Carla in their arms. Their friendly demeanor switched dramatically when Loke didn't respond to them. His eyes narrowed as Mira approached him to try to sooth his worries.

"Loke, they're all okay, they are just asleep." Mira explained in a cautious voice.

"If they are all just asleep, then why are they in the infirmary? What's wrong with them?" Loke asked angrily.

"We don't really know." Wendy said softly as she also approached Loke. "They can't wake up and they are having nightmares… but we don't know why or what caused it. Freed has been trying to figure it out…"

"Nightmares…" Loke murmured to himself as he walked over to sit on the edge of Lucy's bed.

"What are you doing here Loke?" Happy asked as he jumped up and onto Lucy's bed to sit beside Loke.

"I felt Lucy's distress." Loke said as he pushed a lock of Lucy's hair away from her face. "None of us in the Celestial realm had heard anything from her over the past few days, but none of us sensed any danger, so we didn't think too much of it…" The spirit seemed to get lost in his thoughts for a moment before he turned to face the Strauss sisters and Wendy.

"How long have they been like this?" He asked in an assertive voice.

"This is the fourth day." Mira replied with curiosity in her voice. "Loke, is there something we should know?"

Loke shook his head as he looked away from them and breathed a heavy sigh. "She has been having nightmares frequently over the past year, while Fairy Tail was disbanded."

"About what?" Lisanna asked. Loke ran a hand through his hair before he looked back at Lucy's sleeping form. "Her mother, her dad, the guild… She felt alone and lost after the guild disbanded. She told me it seemed like everyone had a place to be or someone to be with, some kind of plan for their future except for her. She felt alone and abandoned, just like when her mother died."

The two sisters looked at each other with sad and concerned faces before Lisanna turned back to address Loke. "Why didn't she say anything? She could have come along with us."

"She thought that you would look down on her, think that she was pathetic for not having anything or anyone outside of Fairy Tail." Loke replied just as Lucy winced in her sleep. The lion spirit gave her a worried look as he reached out to hold her hand. The three girls looked at each other with slight twinges of guilt in their hearts, but they were all surprised when Happy spoke up.

"I told Natsu it was a dumb idea to not invite Lucy to come with us." The blue feline huffed as he padded over to sit by Lucy's head. His comment brought small smiles to Wendy, Lisanna, and Mira's faces. Loke just watched Happy carefully as he moved. "But don't worry Lucy, I'll help stay with you now. That way you won't be so sad anymore."

Loke gave a small smirk at the blue cat and his simple logic before he turned back to face the girls. "She hates the idea that I would spend whole nights watching over her. She asked me to stop doing it, but I plan on staying with her until her nightmare ends."

"Of course. You're more than welcome to stay longer than that." Mira said, but Loke waved off the offer.

"She wouldn't want me to, so I will only stay as long as she feels unsafe."

* * *

The two children followed the adult blonde as she walked out of the grand and beautiful ball room and into a darkened corridor. From there, the woman made several twists and turns through different hallways and doors. By the time they reached what appeared to be her bedroom, Natsu wasn't sure that he would be able to find his way back if his life depended on it.

The room itself was large, but rather simple. Her bed was much larger than the one in her apartment, but its size was the only extravagant thing about it. Her closet was very large and she had a large mirror that hung from the wall opposite the bed. Along the far side of the room, Natsu could see a balcony through the glass paned doors and from the balcony a beautiful view of the night sky. Next to the doors to the balcony was a dark wood writing desk. It was very neatly organized with a stack of blank pages as well as envelopes and a stick of wax. The room was lit only by a few candles, one by the desk and another by her bed.

While Natsu and Lucy had been preoccupied with observing the room, the adult Lucy had changed from her gown into a short and silky looking robe. She gained the two children's attention as she walked past them while removing the jeweled piece from her hair and letting her golden locks fall down her back. It was just as long as it was when Natsu found Lucy in Crocus. She sat down in the chair at the desk and pulled out a pen from one of the drawers and pulled a fresh piece of paper from the stack on the desk.

"Dear Mom," The blonde said as she wrote the words. It was at this point that the child like Lucy began to blush in embarrassment. It may have been a normal habit for her, but she wasn't used to having an audience and although technically she wasn't really writing, it felt as though she were sharing her most private thoughts with Natsu.

"It's been five years to the day that Fairy Tail was disbanded." The adult Lucy said as she made precise strokes with her pen. "So much has happened, and I never thought that I would find myself in the position I am now, not after I told Dad that I was done with this life. I don't think it's all bad, though. I guess that one of the biggest differences between now and then is that I can do so much good with what I have. Just tonight we were able to raise 200 billion jewel for the orphanage. It's so nice to be able to help others this way…" Lucy stopped writing and closed her eyes as she took a shuddering breath. When she opened her eyes to continue writing, they were heavy with tears.

"But I feel so empty and alone." Lucy said as her pen met paper again. "I don't want to feel this way Mama, but I've lost everyone that means something to me. I lost you and Dad. Then I lost Aquarius and the next day Natsu was gone. Then I lost Fairy Tail… It hurts Mama, it hurts so much. If I could go back to that day, maybe if I had been a bit stronger then I wouldn't be where I am today." The blonde woman stopped and put her pen down and looked down at her fingers before she spoke again. "What are you doing here?"

Both Natsu and Lucy looked at each other in shock, thinking that they had been spotted by the illusion, only to jump when they heard a new voice from behind them.

"You're husband's an ass and I was worried he might try something." Loke said as he walked into her room. He was dressed in his usual suit with his hair as wild as ever and a pair of glasses on his face despite the fact that it was dark and they were inside. The thing that was missing was his suave demeanor and his carefree attitude. Instead, he had a stern look on his face and although he was trying to look impassive, but the child-like Lucy could see the worry and sadness in his eyes. He shrugged off his jacket and dropped it onto the bed and started rolling the sleeves of his white shirt up to his elbows.

"You shouldn't be here, Loke." Lucy said as she tried to hold back tears and make her face look as passive as possible. Natsu recognized the look as the one Lucy had been giving him since the guild got back together. He hated that look.

"And you gave up the right to tell me that when you tried to break our contract." Loke said as he leaned up against the wall with his arms crossed. Natsu dared to glance at the young Lucy, but she looked away from him as soon as she saw his head turn.

"Then why do you still come here. If our contract is broken, why do you still come back to me?" Lucy said as she deliberately turned away from Loke, allowing both Natsu and Lucy to look directly at her as tears fell silently down her face.

"Because you were my friend before you were my mage and our contract is based off of the friendship. It's not so easily broken." Loke said and continued to watch the blonde. "They all miss you; Virgo in particular seems to take it the hardest."

"Stop." Lucy whispered as she stood to walk away from her old friend.

"She really tries not to show how much she cares, but you were one of the only mages that she could be open with. Aries has taken it hard too. She has been with either Virgo or me since this started. When she's not crying, she just stares out into nothing with a blank look on her face." Loke continued, adjusting his glasses as he continued his talk.

"I said stop." Lucy said with a raised voice as she stood by a dresser next to her bed. She tried to fiddle with some of the objects there, but it was a poor distraction from the spirit attempting to gain her attention. Loke had moved from his spot to follow her.

"Gemini tries not to let it bug them, but I've seen them transform into you just so they can see you again." Loke continued as he stalked behind her. At his words the young Lucy sniffed loudly, still trying to hold back tears.

"Stop it!" The adult Lucy yelled as she turned with her hand raised in an effort to strike at her once loyal spirit. Loke was unshaken by the move as he caught her by the wrist and pulled her closer to him.

"No. If you want me to stop, you're going to have to make me." The lion spirit practically growled. "Go look for their keys."

"No, Loke. I'm not a mage anymore, this is my life now." Lucy replied, but her voice sounded halfhearted.

"You can't possibly expect me to believe that you are happy like this." Loke shouted at her as pushed her back onto her bed. The woman pushed herself up onto her elbows and attempted to scoot herself away from the spirit. The action pulled a growl from Natsu's lips as he tightened his fists as if to intervene.

"You hate this just as much as you did when you were a child. You hate that sorry excuse for a husband and you hate that you are back in the world of money and business." Loke continued before he got onto the bed to get closer to the blonde who was still trying to put distance between them. In a quick move, Loke grabbed her by the arms and pulled her close to him so that their faces were just a few inches apart. "Damn it, Lucy, you don't belong in this world. You should go back, be a Celestial mage again and leave this sorry excuse for a life behind."

"I can't!" Lucy shouted back as the tears finally fell from her face like tiny rivers. "I can't do it. I've lost too much already. It hurts too much to go back."

"There was once a time that you would have sacrificed your life for all of us." Loke continued in a harsh whisper. "All Aquarius did was sacrifice a contract so you could save everyone's lives. She thought that you were worth it."

Loke pushed Lucy hard enough that she bounced up and down on the bed. Loke picked up his jacket and headed towards the doors that lead to the balcony. He put a hand in his pocket to pull something out before he turned back to look at the tearful and shocked woman on the bed.

"Virgo and Plue both agreed to reinstate their contracts, no questions asked. We're ready whenever you decide to quit this bullshit and go find Aquarius." He said as he tossed the object in his hand in the center of the room. It landed right in front of the child-like Lucy, who stared down at them, mouth agape and a look of shock on her face. Natsu could tell that the object was the ring that held her spirit keys, but there was something off about it. The pink haired boy walked closer to get a better look.

On the ring that held her keys together were two shining gold keys, one with the symbol of Virgo, and the other with Leo. A third silver key accompanied the pair of gold keys. The rest of the keys, there was something wrong with them. While the three keys sparkles and shone, even in the dim lighting, the rest of the keys looked old. Some of them looked as though they had corroded, while others took on a rust like appearance. But there was one key of all the damaged keys that stood out the most. Natsu recognized it immediately, not because he was familiar with the celestial spirits, but because it was one of Lucy's most dangerous and treasured spirits. The key that belonged to Aquarius looked as though it had been broken in half.

Natsu looked up at the adult Lucy who had rolled over to be face down in the covers of her bed as the sounds of her soft sobs filled the room. He glanced back down at the keys and then looked at the child like blonde next to him.

"Lucy…" Natsu addressed her with his voice just barely louder than a whisper. "What happened to Aquarius?"

The small girl didn't respond right away, but Natsu was patient. He looked around the room while he waited for her to respond. He noticed that the door to the balcony had been left open, likely when Loke left. The slight breeze made the candle light flicker until both of the flames were snuffed out, leaving Natsu and Lucy with only the light of the stars peeking through from the open balcony.

"It was back with our fight against Tartaros," Lucy said as tears flowed freely from her eyes and down both cheeks. "Everyone had disappeared. We were surrounded. Virgo and Loke couldn't handle the demons on their own, so I summoned Aquarius." At the mention of her first spirit and friend, her voice started shuttering and her tears fell more quickly. Natsu turned towards her and lifted his hand to reach out for her, but remembered how she had flinched away from him before. So instead, he let his hand fall and stood there with nothing to do but listen.

"B-but even with Aquarius, it just wasn't enough. I was already losing so much power trying to keep open three gates. I t-tried, but I just c-couldn't. Aquarius told me to b-break her key b-because it w-would summon the Celestial Spirit King. But it would also b-break our contract. I would n-never s-see her again." Lucy continued, her sobs continued to get harder and her breathing quickened as she got more upset.

"She t-told me I had to do it for my f-friends, t-to be able t-to save all of you. I h-had no choice." The small blonde child wrapped her hands around her stomach as if doing so would help her keep everything together as she sobbed; all the while she refused to look up at Natsu.

"I lost m-my first f-friend that day and th-then when it was all over, y-you just left. All y-you did was leave a st-stupid n-note and y-you l-left me. I t-tried t-to run after y-you, but you were gone. F-first my mom and th-then my d-dad left me and then Aquarius was g-gone. M-master disbanded the g-guild and then y-you just left. I was so a-alone. I j-just don't want t-to be alone anymore." Lucy said as she broke down into hysterics and fell to her knees. Her sobs had become so hard she was having trouble breathing. Her lungs actually hurt and she could feel cramps forming in her sides, and yet she couldn't stop her sobs. She was so preoccupied by the growing pain in her chest, she hadn't noticed that Natsu had gotten so close until she felt the warm arms wrap around her.

Natsu had finally reached out to her in the middle of her hysteria. Before Lucy could react, Natsu had already wrapped his arms around her center. Lucy wanted to just let him hold her, but she was still upset with him and so she tried to push him away only to be met with a firm resistance.

"Natsu let me go." She practically yelled through her sobs.

"No." The boy replied firmly and pulled her tighter into him.

"Natsu!" Lucy began to object before she heard Natsu trying to sniff back tears of his own.

"No I won't let go of you!" Natsu replied again more, his voice dripped in sadness as he began to rock her back and forth slightly. "If I don't let go of you then you'll never have be alone again."

Lucy found herself caught off guard by his reasoning and allowed herself to be comforted by the pink haired boy.

"I never meant to make you feel this way. Damn it, if I could take it all back… If I had known…" Natsu stumbled with the apology on his lips. "I'll fix this; I swear if I have to spend the rest of my life doing it, I'll fix this."

After hearing those words, Lucy felt for the very first time Natsu may have actually understood how hurt she was by his actions. Lucy felt deep in her heart how much she truly missed him. So, she wiggled her arms free of his grip so that she could hug the dragon slayer back.

It didn't fix how broken their relationship was, and it didn't change how hurt she felt, but it was a start in the right direction.

* * *

 **A/N: Hey all, it's been awhile huh? Sorry, but nursing school really kinda sucks the life out of you. For everyone who has been waiting patiently for this update, thank you for being so patient. I hope it was worth the wait. For those of you who have binge read the last 17 chapters and recently favorited or followed (it gives me alerts, I know that you are out there), thanks for the follows and favorites. It's good to know people actually enjoy this. I will try again to get the next chapter out as soon as I can. I may have some time to get some writing done over this next week because I don't have to do a care plan this week (yay me!).**

 **Thanks to everyone who has continued to leave reviews. I enjoy reading every single one. It gives me that warm fuzzy feeling right above my aortic valve.**


	19. Chapter 19

_"Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear. "_

 _—Mark Twain_

Loke was true to his word. By late afternoon, he brushed Lucy's hair from her sleeping eyes and left a kiss at the center of her forehead before bidding Lisanna and Wendy good-bye. Happy had long since fallen asleep, being ever so diligent in his promise to stay with Lucy.

"I'm glad that Happy got to sleep some too," Wendy mentioned to Lisanna as they went about their day watching over the sleeping mages. "He is very restless at night. Carla has threatened to kick him out several times. I don't mind, I think he just misses Natsu."

"Well it does make sense; Happy has always had Natsu nearby. I imagine that he feels alone without him." Lisanna replied. Happy remained asleep until Pantherlily, Reedus, and Elfman arrived for the night.

"Come on Happy, it's time to go for the night." Wendy said as she began to leave.

"Do I have to? I mean I already slept so much today, I could stay awake all night." Happy said as he flew around the room.

"Oh no you don't," Carla started with arms crossed," You will not be keeping Wendy up all night. She needs her rest from all the hard work she has been doing."

"Wendy," Lily called as he approached her. "I wouldn't mind also keeping an eye on Happy during the night. I understand that he misses Natsu, and it won't do you any good if he is going to keep you up all night."

"Well… do you really think it would be alright?" Wendy asked with worry in her voice.

"I am positive." Lily said with a nod of his head.

"That means I can stay up all night with you guys!" Happy said in glee as he flew in a couple loop-da-loops.

"Only a real man can stay up all night!" Elfman commented. Reedus had already begun to set up his easel and paint.

"Okay then. Happy will stay the night here." Wendy affirmed before saying goodnight and leaving the guild with Lisanna.

Pantherlily smiled and saw Mira as she was leaving the infirmary. He quickly flew over to her with a question on his mind. "Mira, has there been any word from Freed about this spell?"

"He left this afternoon. He said that he thought he had a lead to find out more about the spell, but I haven't heard back from him yet." Mira explained. "I expect that if he was able to discover anything that he will contact us in the morning."

"I see." Lily said as his expression grew pensive.

"Is everything alright, Pantherlily?" Mira asked.

"It is just that this spell is affecting all of us. We cannot continue on this way forever." Pantherlily said as if he were thinking out loud.

"I know what you mean, but I don't know what else we can do…" Mira said with a sigh.

"Go home and rest." Pantherlily said as he gave Mira a concerned look. "Tomorrow we will see if there is any more news, and decide what to do from there."

* * *

It was a long time before Lucy's sobs slowed to a stop, and still Natsu held her. Lucy had to admit that it felt good to be back in his embrace again, but she was done with this place and wanted to leave. She wanted to be back at the guild or in her small apartment and back to her life. It was only when she told Natsu that she wanted to go home that he released her from the embrace. As soon as they had parted, Natsu took Lucy's hand in his as they walked back into the silent halls of the mansion. Soon the halls began to transform from smooth and light to rough and dark. With a few more steps and a bright flash of pink, the two were back in the creepy hallway that housed their dream states. Lucy seemed encouraged by the change and tried moving ahead more quickly.

"Lucy, wait!" Natsu said still holding on to the blonde child's hand. Lucy turned with slight confusion to face Natsu. The pink haired boy had his eyes on the ground.

"What is it Natsu?" Lucy asked.

"It's my turn." He said quietly. "I know before that I left without you, but it was because I was scared. I knew where I was going was going to be dangerous and I didn't know if I could keep you safe." Natsu's head lifted slightly, but he looked at the stone of the wall instead of at Lucy.

"Against Mard Geer… I was losing. I had to be saved, and by Gray of all fucking people…" Natsu continued with a slight crack to his voice and Lucy could feel the tension in the way Natsu's hand seemed to hold on tighter to hers. "I had already seen you die before… and I couldn't do anything about it. I was afraid that—"

Natsu was cut off by Lucy's sudden embrace. He looked at Lucy as she rested her head lightly on his shoulder, looking away from him.

"It's always more fun when we're together, right?" Lucy's sweet and childlike voice replied. Natsu gave a slight smile and wrapped his arms around the small blonde.

"Right." Natsu replied, though there was not much conviction in his voice. Lucy pulled away from him and held on to his hand firmly.

"Well then, let's go. The sooner we go, the sooner we can get back to the guild." Lucy said with a reassuring smile. Natsu nodded and tried to smile back, but as the two turned back around and walk towards the source of their nightmares, his smile turned into a worried expression.

* * *

"Do you really think it was a good idea to send Natsu and Lucy down there together?" Gray asked Erza as he finished absentmindedly kicking off his shoes and socks.

Erza looked up at Gray from her spot on the floor next to Jellal. She gave Gray a questioning look as she asked him, "Are you regretting the decision to not accompany her?

"No, I'm just wondering what the chances are that Lucy is just kicking Natsu's ass instead of dealing with whatever the hell is down there for her." Gray mused as he began to pace around while stealing glances at the creepy hallway.

"Juvia would be more worried that Lucy would continue to avoid Natsu. Juvia thinks that without accepting help, Lucy may be consumed by her fears." The young water mage said as she got up from the floor and brushed off her dress.

"No," Levy said with her still quivering voice. She was sitting across Gajeel's lap, with his arms around her protectively. She lifted her head off of Gajeel's chest while she spoke as Gajeel held on to her hand. "Natsu wouldn't let anything happen to Lu-chan, not after…" Levy trailed off, losing any words to describe what she and Natsu saw in her nightmare. She shook her head slightly and looked at the other mages. "Natsu won't let her face her fear alone."

"I agree. I don't think that we have anything to worry about." Erza said confidently.

"I'm not worried." Gray claimed as he continued to pace. "I just can't wait to get out of this damn place and it feels like they have been gone for a long..." Gray's voice trailed off as he stopped and quickly turned towards the looming hallway.

"Gray, what is it?" Erza asked.

"Did you guys feel that?" Gray asked in a cautious voice.

"Feel what?" Jellal quietly replied.

"It feels like it's getting warmer." Gray replied as he turned to look at all the other child-like mages.

"I don't feel any different." Erza said as she looked herself up and down.

"I feel it too." Juvia said as she looked down the hallway.

"What does it mean?" Jellal asked from his spot on the floor.

"It's Natsu…" Levy explained. "He's upset."

"So when Natsu gets upset he can't control his magic?" Gray huffed. "How stupid is that?"

"Comin' from the guy who almost turned us into popsicles..." Gajeel growled back.

"Here they go again," Erza mumbled to herself just as Gray turned to shout back at the child dragon slayer.

* * *

The only thing Lucy knew was that she and Natsu had appeared in the guild hall. That was all she had time to figure out. Before Natsu or Lucy could get their bearings, the guild doors burst open. Erza was the first person through the doors, looking worse for wear with dirt and sweat creating smudges on her arms and face.

"Master!" Erza called out as she rushed in. Following her was Lucy who was helping a limping Gray get over to one of the benches. Lucy's clothes were slightly torn, but she seemed to be free from injury. Gray, on the other hand, seemed to be a complete mess. He winced in pain with every step and was completely covered in dirt or blood. When Lucy helped him to sit down, he let out a gasp of pain.

"I know, Erza. I saw the whole thing." Makarov called down from the second floor. The old guild master's face looked older, if that was possible, and his eyes held an intensity that Lucy had never seen from the man before. He hopped down from the second floor railing and made his way over to the three quickly. "This wound is bad. Where is Wendy?"

"As soon as I realized what happened, I told her to take Happy and get out of there." Erza said solemnly. Makarov nodded. The child Lucy watched on with worry. It was clear that something terrible was going on, but she had no idea what. As Natsu grip on her hand tightened, Lucy wondered where his counterpart was in the dream. This was Natsu's dream after all, shouldn't he be in it?

It was then that an explosion broke through the walls of their guild hall, an explosion so strong that it caused the two children to duck out of the way of debris. The young Lucy let out a shriek as she covered her ears with her hands while Natsu turned his back to the explosion as he attempted to protect Lucy from the flying brick. All of their efforts seemed frivolous as the broken pieces of brick and stone simply passed through them. As the dust started to clear, little Lucy could only feel one thing: the heat.

Gray, Erza and Lucy could be heard coughing as the smoke cleared. In the giant hole that had once been the wall of their beloved guild hall, stood two figures. The first figure that came into view caused a shiver to run down little Lucy's back and Natsu straightened up to let out a small growl and clutched his fists. The figure walked forward revealing pitch black hair with equally black eyes. His face revealed a smug and calm grin. His clothes were just as dark as the rest of him and he walked with purpose as he approached the torn and battered mages.

"Makarov, I expected a much warmer welcome from a man of such high rank." The man said with something that can only be characterized as mild amusement.

Makarov had taken several steps forward to stand protectively between the intruder and the other three mages.

"I was more worried about the safety of my children, I am sure that you can understand why, Zeref." The old man retorted as Erza and Lucy moved in closer towards the injured Gray.

"Of course, perhaps we should take this conversation elsewhere." Zeref replied and gave a slight wave of his wrist. In that instant, Makarov disappeared. Zeref turned slightly to the side a said in a voice that dripped with hints of malice, "Go ahead and play with your friends, Natsu."

As the words left his mouth, the child Lucy felt a strong pulse of heat and she could have sworn that she heard the pink haired boy mumble the word "no". At the same time the second figure became visible through the settling dust. The man's body was tense, he was wearing a familiar set of white baggy pants, and his open vest stood dark against his tanned skin, but there was something off. His pink hair suddenly didn't seem so vibrant, the white of his pants seemed to grey, and the tan of his skin didn't seem like he was touched by the sun, but instead was a different kind of dark. The most noticeable difference was in his eyes. They had turned dark, and not the same kind of dark that came to his eyes when he was in an intense battle. They lacked any kind of spark of life. The only way Lucy could think to describe it was tainted. Somebody had taken her Natsu and tainted him.

When he came into view, he let his head turn to one side causing his neck to make a sickening crack and a smile came to his face, but this was not his carefree smile. This smile was full of malevolence and the small blonde tried hard not to shake at the fear that smile inspired. Lucy could feel another intense wave of heat, but this time the heat didn't go away after an intense pulse.

At that, Zeref disappeared leaving the corrupted dragon slayer with Lucy, Erza, and Gray.

"I'm all fired up." The trademark saying echoed in an unnatural voice and it seemed like the entire guildhall darkened.

"Natsu, snap out of it, please…" the dream Lucy begged as tears came to her eyes. Natsu's head turned sharply towards her as if she was some kind of prey and he took a few steps towards her. Erza had already requipped into her flame empress armor and stood ready for the tension to break. Despite being ready for the expected attack, Erza didn't react quick enough to stop Natsu from rushing Lucy and grabbing her by the neck. He shot Erza a smug grin as he sneered, "Don't get any closer." Then without warning he took hold of Lucy's arm and brought it down against his knee. The child Lucy couldn't tell what happened first, the sickening crack that rebounded around them, or another spike in heat that seemed to make it harder to breathe. The anguished shriek that followed and the odd angle of the celestial mage's arm made her feel sick.

As the small blonde turned away, she saw Natsu kneeling on the floor tears running down his face, but with a black expression. Lucy quickly sat in front of him, put her hands on his shoulders and shook the pink haired boy. "Natsu! What's going on?"

"There's nothing I can do." Natsu said in a sad and strained voice while his face stayed in a blank state. "I tried so hard to get stronger so I could protect everyone, but there's nothing I can do…how can I protect anyone from myself? What am I supposed to do Luce? How do I stop from hurting you?"

Lucy stared at him in total awe. Her arms dropped from his shoulders and she continued to breathe heavily as she started to feel more and more suffocated from the heat that surrounded them. Truthfully, she didn't know what to do. It was hard to think, it was hard to breathe. It was so hot. She knew she could hear voices arguing in the background, but she just couldn't focus on them. It was too hot. Before she could come up with anything to be able to help, Natsu put his head in her lap and let out a whimper, "I'm so sorry Luce."

Lucy sat for a moment as Natsu cried into her lap before her hand found its way into his hair and began to gently move through the pink locks as she lightly massaged his scalp. It was something she did often to help his motion sickness, but now it just felt like the right thing to do.

"It's okay Natsu." Lucy whispered to him, and despite the heat that was surrounding her, and how hard it was to breathe, Lucy found herself quietly singing.

" _May you always walk in sunshine  
Slumber warm when night winds blow  
May you always live with laughter  
For a smile becomes you so_

 _May good fortune find your doorway  
May the bluebird sing your song  
May no trouble travel your way  
May no worry stay too long_

 _May your heartaches be forgotten  
May no tears be spilled  
May old acquaintance be remembered  
And your cup of kindness filled_

 _And may you always be a dreamer  
May your wildest dream come true  
May you find someone to love  
As much as I love_—"

Lucy stopped when Natsu's hand grabbed her leg suddenly.

"Lucy, how did you do that?" Nastu asked in a shocked voice.

"Do what?" Lucy asked, but both children were distracted by the sound Gray's voice.

"Ice make: Demon Prison." Gray shouted from his position standing up next to the bench. He then leaned forward to catch himself on the table. The two children looked over to see the corrupted vision of Natsu become surrounded by icy prison bars. The man's arm was reaching out between the bars with his hand still wrapped around Lucy's neck. Erza took advantage of the distraction created by Gray's spell and rushed forward. She delivered a kick to Natsu's arm. As soon as his arm hit the icy bar, he released his hold on the celestial mage and recoiled back letting out a hiss.

"This is our chance, Lucy, let's go!" Erza commanded as she helped Lucy to her feet. Lucy stood up with her broken arm lying limp at her side. It looked like she the imprint of her assailant's hand burned into the skin of her throat. Yet, she didn't turn right away and run as Erza turned to help Gray walk. Lucy looked at the Natsu imprisoned in the cage of ice as she brought her other hand to support the broken arm. With tears in her eyes, she said with every ounce of conviction, "I'm sorry, Natsu. We will get you back. I promise we will get you back."

The promise only seemed to make the nefarious Natsu angry as he let out a viscous sounding growl. He made an attempt to reach for Lucy again, but he came into contact with the bars again and pulled back as if he had been burned.

"Lucy, we need to go now!" Erza shouted as she made her way out of the guild while supporting a stumbling Gray. Lucy turned away from the angry dragon slayer with tears in her eyes as she hurried after Erza and Gray.

"I can't let this happen." Natsu's child-like voice tore Lucy's attention away from the scene and back to her partner as he mumbled, "I can't let this happen, but I don't know how to stop it."

"Don't you get it Natsu?" Lucy said with a sigh. Natsu turned his head to look up at her from his resting place on her lap. "You can't do everything by yourself. We're a team, we are supposed to work together to figure this out. You aren't alone in this."

Natsu continued to gaze up at Lucy with a concerned look. Lucy's eyes looked like they were shining as if tears were threatening to fall down her face, but he could see something else in them. It was something good, something that made him trust that every word she said was true. "And we will always find a way, no matter what the situation is, because we will be doing it together, right?"

Natsu lifted his head up off of her lap, and sat down so that he could face her. "Right." He said and got up to his feet.

"Hey, Luce?" He said as he reached out to hold Lucy's hand as she stood up.

"Yes, Natsu?" She replied back, unsure as to what Natsu would say to her.

"Let's go home, I'm starving!" Natsu said with a goofy smile and took off, dragging Lucy behind him.

"Is that all you think about is your stomach?" Lucy questioned in a scolding voice, but both mages smiled at the exchange. It was finally beginning to feel like things were back to normal.

* * *

The night started out like every other night they had been on duty. The only difference was that Happy joined them as they talked about their adventures while they played cards. It was really starting to get close to midnight when they really noticed any change at all.

"Did anyone else feel that?" Elfman had been the first to speak up.

"Oui." Reedus said as he took off his hat to wipe off the sweat that had accumulated on his brow and loosened the tie from around his neck. Pantherlily raised a brow and flew off to check on the only source of heat in the room, Natsu. Happy flew right behind him and they both landed on Natsu's bed. Natsu was mumbling and tossing in his sleep. Pantherlily was thrown off by how intense the heat got as they came closer towards the fire dragon slayer.

"Happy, is this normal for Natsu?" Lily asked the blue exceed.

"Yeah, sometimes Natsu gets really hot while he sleeps, but he usually cools off when he wakes up." Happy said, not seeming to be as bothered by the heat as the others.

"Is there anything else that will help him cool off?" Lily asked. Happy shrugged his shoulders.

"There was this one time he fell into a lake, but I don't know if he cooled off because of the lake or because he woke up." Happy commented and then a mischievous smile came to his face. "Are we going to throw Natsu in a lake?"

"I don't think we need to throw him in the water just yet, but I will keep it in mind." Patherlily as he gave a thoughtful scratch to his chin. Elfman went to open the windows to try to release some of the heat from the room, and Reedus summoned a beautiful fan to try to keep the air around them moving. With these few changes, the men felt comfortable returning to their game.

It was only a few hours later when the next burst of heat exploded through the room. It had gotten hot enough that Elfman had to strip himself of his top, which was coming close to being drenched with sweat and the fan only seemed to be blowing hot air around them.

"Reedus, can you draw up a bucket of ice water?" Pantherlily asked with a huffed breath. The heat had started to make it difficult to breathe in the room.

"Oui!" Reedus replied and quickly produced a barrel of water with ice clearly floating through at least half of it. Lily transformed into his battle form, picked up the barrel and flew towards Natsu's sleeping form. With a slight huff, the exceed tossed the barrel of ice cold water onto the fire dragon slayer. Pantherlily, Reedus, and Elfman stood in slight shock as every drop of water evaporated before it even touched Natsu.

"We have to try to get him away from the others." Pantherlily said as he tried to shake the heat from his head. The heat was making it hard to think. He flew towards the dragon slayer and reached out to pick Natsu up. Lily would toss him out the window if he had to, there was no way the others would be able to survive the heat if things got any worse. However as soon as he made contact the Natsu's skin, he recoiled back. Natsu's skin was so hot, it had burned his palm.

Lily had run out of ideas. He grasped his wrist and gasped in pain as he shrunk down to normal size. What would they do? If they couldn't cool him down and couldn't get him away from the others… Pantherlily's train of thought was interrupted when he saw a flash of blue out of the corner of his eye. He glanced over to see Happy fly over and drop Lucy's sleeping form into Natsu's bed.

The whole thing seemed to happen in slow motion. Lily watched as Happy let go of Lucy's sleeping form, he could almost count his own heart beats as she fell. Then, he watched as Natsu rolled over and with his arms open reached out to grab onto Lucy. Then, as if it were completely normal, Natsu rolled over with Lucy in his arms. Once he had settled, Natsu took a deep breath and Lily heard him mumble her name, "Luce…"

Lily seemed to come to his senses after a slight pause. He flew quickly over to see if Lucy had been burned like he had been, but Lucy was completely unharmed. Lily paused in confusion and he noticed that everything had started to cool down again. It was still warm, but the intensity and pulsing from the heat was gone.

"Happy, how did you know that would work?" Lily asked with astonishment.

"Oh that's easy." Happy exclaimed with a giggled. "I'm a cat!"

* * *

 **Hi everyone... I am so sorry that it has taken this long to get an update out. But literally the week after the last update I ended up in the hospital, then I had to try to play catch up for all the school I missed. Then right at the start of winter break, the county I live in caught on fire, literally. Like my school had to be evacuated as well as half the county. It was recorded as one of the largest fires in the state's history and the fire didn't get put out until January. Then school started up again... I have been so busy... In fact I should probably be studying for my exam on Monday... but instead I am trying to get this out to you guys, because you are all awesome! Did I mention how much I missed you?**

 **Anyway, I want to thank everyone for sticking with me through this whole time. I am an avid reader and I know how it feels to want to know what happens next... which is why I feel so bad for making you guys wait so long.**

 **I am going to try really hard to get the next part of this out as soon as I can, but I can't make any promises. The good news is I only have 8 more weeks until summer and then I can put these chapters out more frequently.**

 **P.S. To the reviewer who is a medical student, your comment made me laugh so hard I fell out of my bed. It was awesome.**


	20. Chapter 20

_"The real challenge is not simply to survive; it is to survive as yourself, undiminished."- Elia Kazan_

Jellal didn't know how to describe how this whole thing felt other than _wrong_. Their surroundings didn't make any sense and the counter intuitiveness of it all confused him. The stone he was trying to rest on should have been cold. Every stone floor he had ever slept on had been cold. Even after a hot summer day, the ground he slept on would always feel cold. The ground here, it felt like nothing.

He had originally moved down on to the floor when the heat became too much to bear. It had been suffocating to try and remain upright and Jellal could feel the emotion behind each burst of heat. He had begun to wonder if others could feel it as well. Did they understand the fear and the loss with each spike in temperature? He didn't know.

He wasn't the only one who had tried to seek reprieve from the heat by lying on the stone ground. If Jellal remembered correctly, it had been Juvia that had gone to the floor first. Gray looked as though he wanted to collapse to join her, but he had waited until Levy and Gajeel had laid down flat on the ground. Of course being on the ground didn't stop Gajeel from protecting or comforting the little girl. While Levy was lying on her back, Gajeel was lying on his stomach and perched on an elbow so that he could rub his hand gently through her hair. Occasionally, Jellal could hear Gajeel mumble a question to her, which she usually replied with a shake of her head.

Despite the fact that the intensity of the heat had died down, everyone remained close to the ground. Jellal supposed that it was in part due to emotional fatigue. Again, it was an odd feeling, to feel so tired emotionally, and yet to be asleep for so long that his body felt rested. It had been a long time since he felt truly rested. He couldn't pin point what it was that made him feel so comfortable. Of course his mind went back to what he saw when he used the astral projection spell to try and get a hold of the world outside of this stone room. Just the memory of seeing Erza's sleeping form curled up next to his own made him blush. At least he felt as though he were blushing. He would raise his hand up to his cheek and it would feel warm, but it also didn't quite feel like it was his cheek either.

"What are you thinking about?" Erza's childlike voice asked, bringing his attention back to the girl that was sitting next to him, back resting against a piece of broken stone.

"Hm?" Jellal replied as he was brought out of his own thoughts.

"Your eyes," Erza replied softly. "They go out of focus and it's like you aren't really here. What are you thinking about?" Jellal froze. He absolutely refused to explain that he had been thinking of the two of them sharing a bed together, so instead he thought of his previous train of thought.

"This doesn't feel right." He said and raised his arm so that his forearm rested above his head.

"What doesn't feel right?" Erza asked as her eyes focused on the stone next to Jellal's head instead of looking directly at his eyes.

"This whole place, how everything feels, how certain aspects of our dreams feel so real and yet the stone beneath us right now doesn't feel like anything… It's all wrong." He tried to explain, but felt like he hadn't explained anything at all.

"Perhaps it is like any other dream," Erza said as she shifted towards him and brought her eyes to his. "Have you ever had a dream where you could touch water, and you can feel the coolness of it, but it never feels wet?"

Jellal scrunched his eyebrows in confusion, so Erza tried again.

"Or a dream where you have felt someone's touch, you can smell them, but couldn't feel their warmth," Erza continued as she leaned towards him and began to caress his arm. Jellal relaxed slightly at her touch because he did have dreams like that and at the moment, he could feel her touch. He closed his eyes as he let himself take in the moment until he realized something. He couldn't feel her caress on his arm, but instead felt it along his chest and stomach. It was then he remembered that at that moment he was physically sharing an actual bed with the real Erza and he might just be feeling her physical hand as it ran along his body. He shivered and jolted up suddenly as he could feel his face heat up with sudden embarrassment.

"Jellal, what's wrong?" Erza asked with confusion and concern in her voice. But her question went unanswered when Lucy's voice could be heard yelling from the hallway, "Natsu, slow down!"

It was at that point that Jellal thanked every star in the heavens for the interruption.

"I know Lucy, but we're done. It means we can go home!" Natsu yelled back as the two entered from the hallway, the child Natsu dragging Lucy by her arm. The ruckus brought everyone's attention to the two mages.

"What do you mean, we're done?" Gray asked with an annoyed whine to his voice.

"Look!" Natsu said as he showed off his guild mark, the entire emblem filled with a red ink. Then he pulled Lucy forward to show off her hand, with her bright pink symbol completely filled. "That means we're done and we can go home right?"

The mages were slowly gathering from their various resting points when the thought seemed to occur to them all at the same time.

"Juvia wonders, if everyone now has their guild marks filled in, and that was the only requirement to leave, then why are we still here?" The water mage asked in a small voice, her head looking down in slight disappointment.

"We must have missed something." Levy said just barely loud enough for everyone to hear.

"So what? Now we are just stuck here?" Gray asked with frustration rising in his voice. To this the entire group seemed to erupt in a combination of anger and worry. Lucy began to whine that she just wanted to go home and have a bath. Natsu, Gray, and Gajeel began to argue over exactly whose fault it was that they were all stuck. Levy remained quiet, but sunk down to her knees and cross her arms in disappointment. Juvia began to sob that she would never be able to marry her precious Gray while in this place, and Erza was trying to keep the peace between the boys.

Jellal on the other hand began to think. There had to be a way out of this place, otherwise there would have been no point to travelling down the hallway. Something else must have changed. With that, he headed in the direction of the hallway only to find it was missing.

"Guys." Jellal said as he tried to get the attention of the group, but they were all still too focused on each other or their own worries.

"Guys." Jellal tried again, a little louder, but to no avail. He put his fingers to the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath before he raised his voice again.

"Would you all knock it off and focus?" Jellal shouted and everyone froze to look in his direction. "We are all tired and stressed and worried about this whole thing, but we can't take it out on each other. If you can't cooperate and work together, then we will never get out of this place."

Everyone remained still and quiet. Jellal wasn't sure if they were all in shock that the usually quiet man had shouted and even made Erza stop in her tracks, or if they were actually taking in what he had said. He was starting to become nervous at the prolonged silence when someone finally spoke up.

"Jellal is right." Levy said quietly. "We need to focus on getting out of here, it doesn't matter who's at fault, and worrying about never getting out won't get us anywhere."

"Besides," Jellal said nervously looking away from the group. "The hallway is gone."

At this, all the mages turned towards where the hallway had been. Lucy walked up to the wall that stood in its place and tried to push, but nothing happened.

"Well, wher' the hell'd it go?" Gajeel sneered as he crossed his arms. "S'not like it could walk away…"

"I am so done with this place." Gray said as he covered his face with his hands in frustration.

"Hey, guys?" Levy said with a worried tone in her voice. "That's not the only thing that's changed."

The other children turned to look around to find that all of the broken stone and ruins were gone. Every rock, broken stone, and speck of rubble that had filled the room since their arrival was gone. There was nothing that even hinted that there had been debris anywhere in the room at all.

"This is so weird…" Natsu said as he looked around.

"Perhaps we should look around. There could be other changes that would indicate how to leave this place." Erza suggested.

"I mean seriously, how long will this go on for?" Lucy complained out loud.

"As long as you are willing to take it…" Levy mumbled out loud which caused everyone to look at her.

"What does that mean?" Lucy asked as Levy jumped up from her spot on the floor.

"I think it is how we get out." She said suddenly excited. She squared her shoulders towards the wall where the entrance to the creepy hallway once stood.

"I am ready to go home." Levy said trying to be confident. The others watched her carefully, and when nothing seemed to happen they all released the breath they had been holding. Gajeel made a move to comfort Levy, when the sound of grinding rock grabbed everyone's attention. The wall Levy was facing shifted forward and in the process revealed a message that had been embossed into the stone.

 _"Admitting your fears is the first and most difficult step in overcoming them."_ Lucy read the message out loud.

"Well that was helpful." Gray huffed in frustration. Jellal became quiet in thought, and shifted around uneasily before he looked back over at Levy. At the same time Levy had looked at him.

"Do you think it means…" Jellal trailed off, not wanting to finish his sentence.

"There's only one way to find out." Levy said as she turned to face her comrades. Erza looked between Jellal and Levy.

"What are you guys—" Erza tried to ask, but was interrupted when Levy spoke up in a confident voice.

"I am afraid that by the time I admit my feelings, it will be too late." Levy said as tears came to her eyes. She tried to hold back a sniff. Gajeel raised an eyebrow at her admission and began to move towards her.

"Oh Mavis, Levy!" Lucy yelled in panic. Levy looked up at Lucy confused before she saw what the others were seeing. Levy seemed to disappearing.

"What's happening?" Erza cried out. Gajeel growled as he tried to pull Levy towards him, but his arms simply went right through her. "Shrimp!" He called out with worry.

"I…" Levy mumbled as she stared at her transparent hands. "I think this is the way out."

As she spoke her voice began to fade as if she were getting further away, and after a few brief seconds, she was gone.

Lucy fell to her knees with her hands over her mouth as the tears fell. Natsu was next to her almost immediately and embraced her as she cried. Gray looked at where Levy had been with a dumbstruck look on his face while Juvia seemed to be dazed, staring off at the distant wall. Gajeel just stood there, until his face contorted and he turned towards the others with a growl. Without a hint of hesitation, he tackled Jellal, pinning the boy to the ground.

"Where the hell'd she go?" Gajeel yelled with one fist around Jellal's shirt, the other reared back ready to strike at the boy.

"I don't know." Jellal said as he tried to pull Gajeel's hand off of his shirt.

"What is Gajeel-kun doing?" Juvia exclaimed. Before Gajeel or Jellal could say anything more, Gajeel received a kick to his exposed ribs, sending the iron dragon slayer tumbling off of Jellal and rolling several feet.

"That's enough!" Erza commanded as she took a defensive stance between Jellal and Gajeel, who had since rolled on to the balls of his feet and looked like he was about to make another lunge at Jellal.

"He knows somthin' 'bout this!" Gajeel exclaimed with a growl. "He said somethin' before she disappeared!"

Jellal had propped himself up on one arm while his other hand had a grip on the neckline of his shirt. "I don't know where Levy is," he breathed. "We both had the same thought on the meaning behind the message…"

"So, what does it mean?" Gray asked with his arms crossed.

"This place, it trapped us with no choice but to face our fears. It just told us the first step to overcome them." Jellal explained.

"So, we have to admit what we are afraid of?" Lucy asked, though it sounded more like a statement of defeat. Jellal nodded his head.

"Levy and I both thought so, but the only way to know for sure if this is the way out is to try it."Jellal added as his eyes when to the spot where Levy stood before disappearing.

"How the hell do we know if she actually made it out of here?" Gray huffed. "I mean how do we know that she didn't end up somewhere else in this wacky dream world?"

"If she is out of here," Erza mumbled her thought out loud.

"Right," Jellal said as he sat up with a slight huff. "She should be awake."

* * *

"I'm sorry, Pantherlily." Wendy said as she began to bandage up Lily's burnt hand. "I wish I could do more, but we have to wait for the new skin to be ready underneath the burn."

"I understand completely. Just relieving the pain is more than I could have asked for. Thank you." Lily replied as he held out his hand patiently. After explaining the situation to the Strauss sister and Wendy, Elfman and Reedus had gone home. Pantherlily stayed behind to have his hand treated for his burn while Happy flew around recounting his brilliant and heroic actions to Carla, who seemed less than interested.

Mira, who was listening to Happy's tale asked him with her arms crossed and a devilish grin, "Now, Happy, why would Natsu burn Pantherlily, but not burn Lucy?"

"Natsu would never burn Lucy, he _likes_ her!" Happy replied with a childish giggle as he continued to fly around this caused both Lisanna and Mira to giggle to each other.

"Good morning," Freed greeted the group as he came into the infirmary. Mira's eyes suddenly lit up with hope that Freed may have finally found an answer to their problem.

"Freed! Please tell me that you learned how to lift the spell!" Mira said with eagerness.

"Unfortunately, no. But I have brought someone who knows more about the spell." Freed said, causing confused looks to be shared between the present mages. Freed held the door to the infirmary open as he continued his explanation. A man dressed in a fire red gi walked through the doors. His hair was done in a traditional top knot, half his hair was white while the other half was jet black. His face was stern and he had a black line that crossed his face right along the bridge of his nose. "For those who may not know, may I introduce Sensei Totomaru formerly of Phantom Lord's Elemental Four." At Freed's introduction, the man crossed his arms, exposing his charcoal fishnet sleeves, and gave a curt nod.

"In my investigation, I discovered that it was Sensei Totomaru who placed the spell here in Fairy Tail." Freed continued.

"He was the one who placed the spell?" Jellal asked, quickly bringing attention to the astral projected image of the mage's child-like form.

"Hi there Jellal!" Mira said with a giggle. The sudden attention towards Jellal mad the mage, who was used to being hidden, blush. Though he shook his head quickly and replied, "Does this mean that you know how to dispel this magic?"

"Unfortunately, I do not know." Totomaru said. "Allow me to explain. Back all those years ago, Master Jose tasked me with placing the spell."

* * *

 _"_ _I don't understand." Totomaru said as he held the small parchment with Phantom Lord's emblem on it._

 _"_ _Oh, Totomaru, it really is quite simple. Kurogane has angered those Fairies, and after such a brutal attack on his "precious children" Makarov will not hold back. My guess is that they are on their way here with the intent to destroy us, but I have a much bigger plan." Jose said with a bemused smirk on his face. "You see I have set a trap for that old man. Aria will be here in waiting ready to snatch his magic from him. Once their guild master has fallen, those fools will retreat like the cowards that they are, and it will be then that they will be most vulnerable. Juvia and Sol have already set out to kidnap the Heartfilia girl, which means that soon there will be nothing to hold us back from annihilating Fairy Tail. This is where you come in, Totomaru."_

 _Totomaru nodded his head. "What task do you have for me?"_

 _"_ _That paper in your hands has been enchanted with a spell. The spell is sure to incapacitate all within its grasp. It will put them into a state of unconsciousness. After that we will mobilize the guild and hit them with the full force of the Jupiter cannon. They will have no way to protect themselves. That will be the end of Fairy Tail."_

 _Totomaru stood there, slightly alarmed by the viciousness his master was displaying. Jose seemed to be gleefully relishing in the brilliance of his plan. After a few tense moments, Jose began his orders again._

 _"_ _Your task, Totomaru, is to place the spell within Fairy Tail's walls, somewhere that it will certainly be activated after their pathetic retreat. This spell is not easily undone, so even if a few members are missed, they won't be able to revive the others. Fairy Tail's destruction is just within reach." Jose mumbled as he looked out of the window._

 _"_ _Yes Master." Totomaru said and gave his guild master a bow before setting off to his task._

* * *

Totomaru continued with his explanation.

"I thought that one of the first tasks Fairy Tail would take on would be to retrieve the Heartfilia girl. With that in mind, I chose to place the spell within a book that would detail how to locate someone. I was sure that as soon as the book had been opened everyone within the guild would be rendered useless. There was no way I could have known that _the dragon slayer_ ," Totomaru sneered, refusing to call Natsu by name, "would have been able to locate her on his own. He ruined a lot of things for me that day."

The Fairy Tail mages all gave each other concerned looks that shifted between each other and Totomaru, but the man continued. "I hold no ill intent towards the Fairy Tail guild. It was through Phantom Lord's destruction that I was able to move on and teach others my magic craft, and young Romeo has a particular talent for fire manipulation. But I digress, that is all I know about this spell. I am sorry that I could not be of more help to your comrades."

"Thank you for your help." Lisanna said for the group as the rest fell into miserable silence.

"Of course, now if you'll excuse me, my pupils will be arriving soon." Totomaru said as he gave another bow and left the mages.

"I was able to take the information from Totomaru. I believe that the spell can only be dispelled from the inside." Freed reported to the group. Mira turned with sad eyes towards Jellal.

"Have you had any luck on your end of things?" Mira asked.

"Well, actually, Levy has disappeared." Jellal stated glumly. Pantherlily and Wendy both quickly looked over at the script mage to find that she was still asleep. Jellal continued, "We had hoped that it meant that she had woken up, but that doesn't appear to be the case…"

The room fell into silence until Pantherlily cleared his throat.

"Then you best tell the others what we have learned, I am sure that they are worried for Levy. We are all here supporting them, but it is up to you to find a way home and I have absolute faith that you will find a way back." The exceed proclaimed as if it were a matter of fact. Jellal nodded before his astral projection disappeared.

* * *

 **Hi everyone. I got this chapter out quicker than I thought I would, mostly because my semester went to shit. It's a complicated story that I don't want to get in to right now because it will just make me cry.**

 **I wanted to thank everyone for continuing to follow this story and for all my new story stalkers, welcome!**

 **To my fellow binge readers out there, I would love to get your opinion of how the story is going. I know that as a person writes their style changes so I would love to know if I have been staying consistent.**

 **Once again, I love all of your reviews, they are the spoon full of sugar that make the bitterness of life go down.**

 **To the guest that reviewed saying** "Happy is a genius" **, my editor (my brother) would like to retort: "No, Happy is a cat."**

 **As always, I look forward to hearing what you think.**

 **You guys are awesome. See you next time.**


	21. Chapter 21

_**"I wonder if fears ever really go away, or if they just lose their power over us." ―Veronica Roth**_

"Damn cat…" Gajeel grumbled from his spot on the floor. After Jellal had delivered the news that Levy was not awake, Gajeel had growled and made a move towards the heavenly body mage only to be intercepted by Erza, who then threatened to beat him into consciousness unless he sat down and calmed himself.

"So that's it? Freed didn't find out anything else?" Gray asked, frustrated by the limited possibilities of leaving this place sooner than later. Jellal just shook his head in response.

"Well, Juvia sees no point in staying here any longer." The water mage said as she stood up and brushed the nonexistent dust from her dress. Before anyone could ask her what she meant, she cleared her voice and said, "Juvia is afraid she will become like her mother."

"What?" Gray mumbled in slight confusion, barely above a whisper.

"Wait!" Lucy called out to the water mage, but Juvia just turned and smiled. "There is nothing left here for Juvia, so Juvia must move forward."

"Besides," Juvia continued as her voice and child like form began to fade. "Juvia thinks Levy may be feeling alone right now…" With her last word, Juvia disappeared from the room.

The group of remaining mages fell into a stunned silence. Gajeel was the first to break the silence by rounding on Jellal once again, but this time he kept his half crouched stance from his spot low on the floor. "The Shrimp, you saw her, right? She was breathin' and everthin', right?"

Jellal nodded as he responded. "She was just asleep, everything else was okay. Wendy checked her out to make sure."

"Damn women," Gajeel grumbled before he stood up and moved his arms around like he was getting warmed up for a fight. "I'm afraid of the fuckin' monster I was before comin' to Fairy Tail."

Although the iron dragon slayer had tried to remain strong, his insecurities were evident when his voice cracked as he said the word "monster" and he closed his eyes as his child like form began to fade.

"I'm afraid that the people who have sacrificed everything for me, that their sacrifices will be in vain." Gray said in a mumbled voice. His face was still blank as if he was staring off into the distance and as he faded out of existence, the entire room seemed to fill with a kind of aching sadness.

"No way! That means that Gray is going to beat me to wherever the heck we are going next!" Natsu whined. "I'm afraid that—"

"Wait!" Lucy exclaimed, cutting off Natsu's admission of fear. She threw her arms around the child Natsu and whispered, "Please don't leave me alone. I'm scared to be alone."

"I won't leave you alone Lucy," Natsu said with a goofy grin as he returned the embrace. At least he did until he realized that Lucy's child like form had also faded out of view.

"Huh?" The pink haired dragon slayer exclaimed when his arms were suddenly empty. "Hey, that means Lucy is going to make it there before me too! Damn it! I'm afraid that I will lose control and hurt everyone I care about." Natsu admitted quickly before anyone else could beat him to the punch.

Erza and Jellal looked at each other, the only two remaining in the stone antechamber. They held each other's gaze until Jellal looked away with blush on his cheeks.

"You know, when we first arrived in this place, I thought this was a dream." Erza said, drawing Jellal's attention to her again. "I thought I was dreaming of our time in the tower of heaven, because the first thing I saw was you."

"What?" Jellal replied softly, with confusion and shock evident in his voice. Erza let out a soft laugh and placed her hand on his cheek, just under the tattoo around his eye.

"But when I looked closer I realized that this was not a dream. Your face, when you were still asleep, your face looked so worried. But, back when we were kids... you always looked so peaceful when you slept."

"Yes," Jellal acknowledged. It seemed like so long ago, but he could remember a time when it wasn't so hard to have a night of dreamless sleep and wake up next to a girl with beautiful scarlet hair. Just the thought of those times brought a smile to his face.

"There. Just like that. That's the smile I see when I think of you." Erza said fondly.

"I wish…" Jellal started as his smile faded, but the words for what he wanted to say just wouldn't come to him.

"I know," Erza said when he hesitated. "But it's time we returned. We both have responsibilities…"

Jellal nodded as Erza lowered her hand from his face told hold on to both of his hands. Jellal gave them a gentle squeeze.

"Together then." Erza said, although it sounded like a question as the confidence left her voice.

"Together." Jellal replied with a nod.

"I am afraid that my past could hurt my future." Jellal mumbled as he closed his eyes. Erza gave pause as he began to disappear, but then she quickly let out. "I'm afraid of being unwanted."

* * *

It had been a few hours since they had heard the news that Levy had disappeared, and Pantherlily had refused to leave.

"I have a gut feeling that I am needed here." Lily said as he made his way towards Levy's bed. He laid down next to the script mage, her bed more than large enough to accommodate Levy and the exceed in his smaller form. With the pain relieved from his paw, he was able to fall asleep easily and the general noise from Wendy and Lisanna going about the infirmary didn't seem to bother him at all. It helped that Happy had fallen asleep next to Natsu's head. Natsu didn't seem to notice as he seemed to be trying to bury his head into Lucy's ribs just under her breasts (Lucy didn't seem to mind either since her hand ended up in Natsu's hair).

However, Lily began to stir when he heard whimpering sounds coming from next to him. Levy had begun to move around in her sleep again. It had started slowly, as if she had begun to stir, but then she started crying. Lily got up and moved beside her head.

"Levy, its okay. You're safe here." Lily said as he tried to calm her like before.

"Gajeel…" Levy mumbled and began trying to push the blankets off of her. "No… too much blood…"

"It's only a dream, Levy. Gajeel is fine." Lily said trying to reassure her. "You are at the guild Levy, it's just a dream."

"My eyes…" Levy mumbled as she seemed to settle for a moment, only to try to fight her covers again.

"Levy, your eyes are closed." Lily said. Lily started to worry that she would become inconsolable again and prepared for another hard fight as Levy took in a sharp breath. Lily braced himself, waiting for her scream.

* * *

 **Hello everyone. I know it's been a long time, and I know this chapter is short. That's why I am publishing the next chapter in the next few hours. I will explain more about what's been going on with me at the end of the next chapter. Thanks for sticking with me.**


	22. Chapter 22

**"Just remember, you can do anything you set your mind to, but it takes action, perseverance and facing your fears." ―Gillian Anderson**

 _"What is this feeling?" Levy thought, and as she thought them the words echoed around her. It felt as if she were floating in something that had the consistency of maple syrup, yet she didn't feel sticky. She also didn't feel as if she was enveloped in anything. Instead she felt as if she existed within it. At the same time whatever this was felt as if it was alive. The energy felt like electricity that pulsed around her as she tried to move._

 _"No, not electricity. It's like… magic." Again, as she thought them the words echoed around her. She gave out a little giggle that bounced around the atmosphere. There was a feeling of peace here and yet something in her mind that kept poking at her. It was as if there was something she had forgotten._

 _"But what could I have forgotten?" Levy heard the words moving as if they were tangible. She tried to recall what she had been doing last. "I was in the library, and it was late. Natsu and Gray were in trouble with Ezra and had to sort books. Gajeel was there, oh and Lucy was going to sleep over. Wait! Lucy found a book, and then something important happened."_

 _Then Levy heard something that she recognized as not being her, but she was having trouble placing it and the words and phrases were jumbled. It didn't make sense. When she tried to focus, the words became clearer for just a moment. "Levy disappeared."_

 _"I disappeared? But I'm right here. Hello!" Levy's words echoed around her as she continued to try and figure out the puzzle… at least she did, until she heard another voice. This voice she recognized._

 _"Lily?" Her question echoed around her as she tried to focus on his words._

 _"…it is up to you to find a way home…" Lily's voice proclaimed and it felt as if it reverberated into her very soul._

 _"Home?" She questioned as a sinking feeling began to build in her chest. It took her another minute before it finally hit her. "… The way out…"_

 _It was as if everything she had experienced descended on her all at once as the images replayed back in her head and panic set in._

 _"No! I'm sorry. Gajeel, there's so much blood. Don't leave me." Her voice echoed and with every reverberation it seemed to get louder until it felt like she needed to yell just to hear herself._

 _"I need to get out of here." Levy exclaimed trying scream over the building overwhelming sound that only built on her panic._

 _"But I don't know where here is, I can't see anything, it doesn't feel right. I can't see anything." Levy rambled on before she paused suddenly._

 _"I can't see anything." She stated again, before she came to the sudden realization. "I need to open my eyes."_

* * *

Levy's scream never came.

The script mage shot up from her bed, eyes wide and panicked. Levy was breathing heavy as if she had been holding her breath.

"Where is he? He needs help!" Levy cried out. Pantherlily quickly grasped her hand and flew in front of her to get her attention. At the same time he called Wendy over so that she could make sure Levy was okay.

"Levy, it's okay, it was just a dream." Lily explained. Levy paused for a moment before pulling Lily into a hug with tears in her eyes.

"Levy, you really shouldn't be up so quick like this!" Wendy said as she propped up some pillows so that Levy could stay reclined in the bed. Wendy also told Lisanna to go and tell Mira that Levy was awake. The entire time Levy mumbled apologies.

"It's okay Levy, but you need to be careful. I used a spell that would keep you in a stasis so you wouldn't need to eat, but it uses the person's own magic. You'll probably feel drained, so you shouldn't get up just yet." Wendy explained as she tried to help Pantherlily keep Levy calm. Levy nodded her head in understanding and wiped the tears from her face before releasing her tight grip on Patherlily.

"There, you need to relax." Wendy said as she started to check Levy over with her magic. "Everything looks good. How do you feel?"

Levy looked around for the first time since she woke up. She could see all the other mages still asleep in their beds, but as soon as her eyes fell onto the iron dragon slayer, she seemed to calm down considerably, which did not go unnoticed by Pantherlily. Levy allowed herself to relax into the pillows and looked back at Wendy before she answered, "Thirsty. I feel thirsty."

"LEVY!" Jet and Droy shouted together as they burst through the doors of the infirmary. The two boys didn't hesitate to run to the script mage's bed. Each of them grabbed one of Levy's hands and both of them were crying.

"Levy, we're so glad you're awake." Jet proclaimed while on his knees on Levy's left side.

"Please don't scare us like that again, Levy." Droy cried from his spot on Levy's right.

"Oh, I'm sorry guys. I didn't mean to worry you." Levy said as tears began to well up in her eyes. "I just…"

"Now, now boys…" Mira called as she entered the infirmary with Lisanna close behind. She held a tray with a large glass filled with what looked like a strawberry smoothie with a bright purple straw sticking out of it. "If you boys are going to make her cry, you can go right back downstairs. She needs to build up her energy again."

Jet stood up straight as quickly as he could waving his arms out defensively in front of him. "Oh no, Mira! We didn't mean to make her cry. I swear!" Meanwhile, Droy started to cry harder as he placed his forehead on Levy's hand as he whined "No Levy, don't cry. Whatever it is, I didn't mean to. I'm sorry!" The two men's behavior only made Levy take a shuddering breath as she attempted to calm herself.

"Mira-san, I think Levy is just overwhelmed right now." Wendy said she tried to give Levy a bit of space to breathe.

"That's it then, out!" Mira ordered, still holding the tray with one hand and the other hand on her hip. Before Jet and Droy could complain, Mira added on, "There will be time to visit later. I said out. Now." And although Mira used her sweetest voice, there was no hiding the demonic look she gave the two before they apologized again and scurried out of the infirmary with promises to visit. The whole scene made Lisanna giggle and Lily release a deep chuckle. Mira gave a huff before coming over to Levy with the pink colored drink and sitting down beside her bed.

"They are just worried about you dear," Mira explained as she took the drink off of the tray to hand to the script mage. "All of you have had us worried for days now. Here, drink this."

"What is it?" Levy asked as she wiped her eyes and accepted the drink from Mira.

"Well, when I heard that you had woken, I thought I would bring you some of my home remedy for magic deficiency. But the tonic is terribly sour, so I mixed it in to a fruit smoothie to try to sweeten it up for you. Besides, Wendy said earlier that when you woke up you would need to eat something to help rebuild your strength." Mira explained sweetly. Levy nodded her head as she took several sips from the colorful straw. She could definitely taste the sour, but it wasn't overpowering.

"Oh, and I already told Warren to let Gajeel and the others know that you've woke up, so they don't have to worry." Mira said reassuringly. Levy paused for a moment.

"Why would the others be worried?" Levy asked slightly confused.

"Well, hours ago, Jellal showed up and said that you had just disappeared. They wanted to know if you had woken up. But you hadn't. We weren't sure where you had gone."

"Wait! Hours?" Levy asked slightly shocked. "But I literally just left. How could it have been hours?"

"You mean, you didn't go anywhere else before waking up?" Mira asked curiously as slightly worried look came over her.

"Mira…" Warren said as he came through the doors of the infirmary. "We have a problem."

"What do you mean?" Mira said as she stood and turned to face Warren.

"Well… I can't find the others…" Warren mumbled and braced himself for Mira's reaction.

* * *

 **Hi everyone.**

 **I am sorry that this is such a short chapter also.**

 **For those that have been following with my personal school troubles, it did not end well for me. I now have to apply to a different nursing school and hope that they will take me. Just emotionally, that has made the last few months very rough for me.**

 **In addition, I have learned some devastating news. About 2 and a half years ago, I had to have an emergency back surgery. I had a disc in my lower back pressing onto my spine so badly that the doctors explained to me that the surgery had to be done if I ever wanted to walk again. I am thankful that the surgery was a success, but recently I noticed my back hurting again more than it should. I was even more concerned when I started to get tingling sensations down my legs again. I went to the doctor and apparently I am part of the 5% of people who blow out the same disc after surgery. With my pain level at this point, I am only able to sit up about 20-30 minutes at a time, and the only comfortable position for me at the moment is laying on my back.**

 **I wanted to share this news with all of you for a couple of reasons. First is that if I seem to be taking a longer time to put up the next few chapters, its because I literally can not sit at the computer to type. I have been working with a program on my phone to get some work on this story done, but it is so much slower than being on the computer. But more importantly, I wanted to share this because it is very meaningful and connects me to Fairy Tail. You see, after my first surgery, I was stuck, laying on my back for almost 2 months. It was during that time that I discovered Fairy Tail, and it gave me so much hope. At the time I had not started physical therapy and I kept bruising my toes trying to walk around because the damage to my nerves made it difficult to feel if I was raising them high enough. But, when I watched Fairy Tail, it was like it made me believe that despite what all the doctors said, that I would be able to walk again, I would be able to do the things I want to again, because, like Makarov said, if I was so worried about what the doctors said I could or could not do, then how could I grow and heal into the person I want to be? But if I say "who cares what the doctors said", then I could push myself and do more than what the doctors think I can do. Isn't that what Fairy Tail is all about?**

 **So I may be facing surgery again sometime within the next few weeks to months. But I refuse to let this stop me from being the best that I can, and it will not stop me from finishing this story.**

 **Thank you for all the reviews, followers, and favorites. They are the encouragement when I feel down and the reminder that I have people who support me. I also appreciate all the kind words and thoughts people have sent my way. They always bring a smile to my face.**


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